RBS and 12 other banks face collusion charges

RBS is one of the 13 banks that are facing charges with collusion to use anti-competitive rates.

06:54 03 July 2013

In a move to tighten banking standards, EU investigators have accused top banks, which include RBS of colluding over derivatives trading. Preliminary investigation conducted by the Commission showed that banks worked together with the aim to exclude exchanges from the derivatives market.

If found guilty, RBS could be fined up to 10per cent of its global turnover.

European Commission have revealed it issued complaints against the firms which include HSBC, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Citigroup, and UBS, after the evidence they gathered showed that big banks blocked two exchanges from full trading in credit default swap. This is a type of insurance designed to pay out when a country or a company fails to honour debt.

The Commission also filed charges against Market and International Swaps and Derivatives Association for aiding anti-competitive practices.