HSBC Holdings won its fight against a 33.6 million-euro ($37 million) European Union antitrust fine for rigging a key benchmark in a decision reported Reuters.
While the judges at the EU’s General Court agreed that HSBC broke competition rules, they said regulators provided “insufficient reasoning” for the amount of the fine. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Credit Agricole SA’s are fighting even larger fines in the case.
HSBC, Credit Agricole and JPMorgan were fined 485 million euros by the European Commission in 2016. All three had denied wrongdoing and challenged the decision. HSBC’s fine was the smallest as it took part in the cartel for just a month.
“We’re pleased that the Court has annulled the fine. We have consistently disputed that our actions constituted anti-competitive behavior and are considering all aspects of the ruling and our legal options,” HSBC said in a statement.
