Brussels is poised to levy multibillion-euro fines on banks that took part in a cartel to rig two key global interest rate benchmarks as the cost of financial misconduct continues to spiral.

金融不当行为导致的成本持续攀升，欧盟(EU)准备对多家银行处以数十亿欧元罚款，因为这些银行组成卡特尔，操纵全球两个关键基准利率。

Royal Bank of Scotland, Deutsche Bank and Société Générale are set to pay the fines next month to settle allegations that they acted in concert to manipulate either Euribor, Yen Libor or both benchmarks, according to people familiar with the talks.

谈判知情人士表示，苏格兰皇家银行(RBS)、德意志银行(Deutsche Bank)和法国兴业银行(Société Générale)将于下月支付罚款，了结受到的指控。这几家银行被控联合操纵欧元银行间同业拆借利率(Euribor)或日元的伦敦银行间同业拆借利率(Libor)，甚或同时操纵二者。

A further three banks – JPMorgan, HSBC and Crédit Agricole – have been involved in the talks but are holding out from signing a joint Euribor settlement, the people said. These banks are likely to face formal charges that could lead to fines at a later stage.

这些人士透露，另外三家银行——摩根大通(JPMorgan)、汇丰(HSBC)和法国农业信贷银行(Crédit Agricole)也参与谈判，但没有在一份联合Euribor和解协议上签字。这些银行很可能受到正式指控，后期可能被罚款。

The news comes at a torrid time for the world’s biggest banks, which are facing a litany of scandals ranging from allegations that they manipulated the foreign exchange market to the mis-selling of mortgage securities and consumer products.

这则新闻出现之际，正值全球大型银行的多事之秋。这些银行正在面对反复出现的丑闻，从操纵外汇市场、到不当销售抵押贷款证券和消费者产品等不一而足。

Next month’s bumper EU settlement relates to alleged collusion between interest rate traders in two separate cartels, which sought to gain financially by manipulating the benchmarks.

欧盟下个月这笔金额巨大的和解，涉及两个卡特尔的利率交易员之间涉嫌合谋，他们试图通过操纵基准利率获利。

The commission has warned some banks that it is seeking a fine of as much as €800m each for groups involved in both cartels. The precise level will depend on a mix of culpability and market share.

欧盟委员会(European Commission)已经警告了某些银行，正在寻求对两个卡特尔的涉案银行每家处以最高8亿欧元罚款。具体罚金视罪责和市场份额综合因素而定。

Even with three banks holding-out, the settlement is expected to smash antitrust records in Europe; to date the highest combined EU fine for a cartel is about €1.5bn. If the commission issues fines at the top of the range for all six banks, the aggregate could hit €5bn, though people involved in the talks said the final number could be significantly lower.

即便不算后三家银行，预计和解也将打破欧洲的反垄断纪录。迄今为止，欧洲针对卡特尔的最高总罚款约为15亿欧元。如果欧盟委员会针对所有6家银行处以区间最高罚款，罚款总额将突破50亿欧元，不过参与谈判的人士表示，最终金额可能要低得多。

The commission’s Euribor case relies in large part on evidence submitted by Barclays, which has secured immunity from EU cartel fines relating to Euribor.

欧盟委员会的Euribor案很大程度上依赖于巴克莱(Barclays)提交的证据，巴克莱在欧盟对卡特尔的Euribor相关处罚中获得赦免。

Four banks – Barclays, RBS, UBS, Rabobank – and broker ICAP have settled with regulators around the world over wider Libor abuses, paying a combined $3.5bn in fines. However, the EU antitrust authorities have not been party to those deals, preferring instead to seek a multi-bank settlement of their own.

巴克莱、RBS、瑞银(UBS)、荷兰合作银行(Rabobank)等四家银行和经纪商毅联汇业(ICAP)已经在全球与监管机构就更为广泛的Libor操纵达成和解，总计支付了35亿美元。不过，欧盟反垄断部门并未参与这些和解协议，而是更愿意达成一项自己的包括多家银行的和解。