Statement by Senator John McCain on Guilty Plea by Give Banks for Foreign Currency and Interest Rate Manipulation

Statement

U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) released the following statement today on the guilty plea made by five banks for manipulating foreign currency and interest rates:

"Earlier today, five global banks, including J.P. Morgan Chase and Citigroup, agreed to plead guilty to manipulating foreign currency and interest rates and will rightfully pay billions in criminal penalties. Even with the disastrous impacts of the 2008 financial crisis still fresh in the minds of the American people, it appears that financial institutions that are "too-big-to-fail' have not learned their lesson. While the criminal behavior at issue in this settlement is different from what occurred leading up to the 2008 collapse, this case represents yet another shameful demonstration of banks engaging in corrupt practices that have far-reaching global impacts, hurting both the average consumer and investors. While I am gratified the Justice Department has seen this very complicated case through, I am concerned about the side-agreement that was negotiated that effectively holds these banks harmless from the severest sanctions available to the Security and Exchange Commission, and that top executives still received large bonuses under these circumstances. Until individual officers, directors or key employees are held responsible, this culture of corruption that still very much exists among the nation's largest financial institutions will continue to churn out financial scandals putting the American taxpayer at risk."

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