Rabobank hit with $29 mln EU fine over 2006-16 bond cartel

Dutch bank Rabobank was hit with a 26.6-million-euro ($29 million) fine by EU antitrust regulators on Wednesday for taking part in a euro-denominated bonds trading cartel for a decade.

Banks around the world have been fined billions of euros by antitrust enforcers in recent years for rigging key financial benchmarks and currencies.

The European Commission said the cartel, which operated between 2006 and 2016, focused on euro-denominated SSA bonds (Supra-Sovereign, Foreign Sovereign, Sub-Sovereign/Agency bonds) and government-guaranteed bonds traded in Europe.

Government-guaranteed bonds were issued for a limited period due to the 2008 global financial crisis.

Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) staved off a fine of almost 156 million euros after it alerted the European Union’s competition watchdog to the cartel, triggering an investigation in 2017.

“Deutsche Bank has proactively cooperated with the European Commission in this matter and, as a result, has been granted full immunity,” the German bank said.

Source: Reuters