Global foreign-exchange market manipulation settlements

It started with something as ordinary as internal chat messages, except these conversations were allegedly taking place between traders at some of the world's largest banks while discussing the foreign exchange market. Regulators in the United States, Britain and Switzerland examined the messages, including the typos, trading jargon and profanity, as evidence in a case involving alleged attempts to manipulate currency markets.

UBS, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland eventually agreed to settlements, with the banks facing a combined $4.25 billion in fines. The amount sounded enormous, but regulators also indicated that the penalties weren't expected to threaten the financial health of the institutions involved.

Perhaps the most striking part was what didn't happen. Despite the allegations and the evidence contained in the internal communications, no traders or executives were charged with wrongdoing as part of the settlements. The fines closed one chapter of the investigation, but the wider questions surrounding the manipulation of the global foreign exchange market were far from settled.