Credit Suisse hit with extra EU antitrust charges in forex probe

(Corrects to say first statement of objections was sent in 2018, not 2019)

ZURICH (Reuters) – Credit Suisse has been hit with additional EU antitrust charges, three years after EU enforcers charged the Swiss bank with rigging foreign exchange rates in an almost decade-long case.

The financial sector has been in the EU antitrust crosshairs for nearly a decade for rigging key interest benchmarks, government bonds and foreign exchange rates, resulting in billions of euros in fines imposed on various banks.

The European Commission had in July 2018 sent a charge sheet known as a statement of objections to Credit Suisse, Switzerland’s second-biggest bank.

Such documents typically set out anti-competitive activities uncovered by regulators which could lead to fines as much as 10% of a company’s global turnover.

Credit Suisse on Monday confirmed receipt of a supplemental statement of objections.

“Credit Suisse continues to believe that it did not engage in any systemic conduct in the FX markets which violated the European Union’s competition rules, and is contesting the EC’s case,” the bank said in a statement.

The Commission, which fined Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Citigroup, JPMorgan and MUFG Bank in May 2019 for rigging foreign exchange spot trading, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(This story corrects to say first statement of objections was sent in 2018, not 2019)