EU imposes record fines on banks for rate fixing

The European Union imposed a record 1.7 billion euros ($2.3 billion) in fines on six institutions on Wednesday for rigging key interest rates that affect vast sums of money around the world. The sanction comes after several other massive penalties imposed on the world's biggest banks over the malpractices which have besmirched the reputation of the sector. After boom years on Wall Street and in London, the financial crisis of 2008 has exposed various abuses by banks, including the reporting of false interest rates or the hiding of junk home loans in derivatives sold as high-quality assets. On Wednesday, the European Union dredged out one more malpractice by the institutions, with German Deutsche Bank fined a total of 725 million euros for involvement in cartel rigging of both the European Euribor and Japanese Tibor rates.