The European Commission (EC) said in a statement Thursday that it had fined five banks 1.07 billion euros ($1.2 billion) for taking part in cartels.

Axar.az reports citing European media.

"In two settlement decisions, the European Commission has fined five banks for taking part in two cartels in the Spot Foreign Exchange market for 11 currencies — Euro, British Pound, Japanese Yen, Swiss Franc, US, Canadian, New Zealand and Australian Dollars, and Danish, Swedish and Norwegian crowns", the European Commission said.

The first decision ("Forex — Three Way Banana Split" cartel) imposes a total fine of some €811 million on Barclays, The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Citigroup, and JPMorgan. The second decision ("Forex- Essex Express" cartel) imposes a total fine of nearly €258 million Barclays, RBS, and MUFG Bank (formerly Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi).

According to Brussels, the banks formed those cartels in order to influence 11 different currencies, including the euro, US dollar, pound sterling, Japanese yen, Swiss franc, and others.