Brussels, 10/06/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 10 June, the European Commission announced that it has informed the UK-based broker ICAP of its preliminary view that it may have breached EU antitrust rules by facilitating several cartel infringements in the market for interest rate derivatives denominated in yen. Interest rate derivatives (e.g. forward rate agreements, swaps, futures and options) are financial products which are used by banks or companies for managing the risk of interest rate fluctuations. They are traded worldwide and play a key role in the global economy. They derive their value from the level of a benchmark interest rate, such as the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) or the Tokyo Interbank Offered Rate (TIBOR) for the yen. On 20 May 2014, the Commission sent similar statements of objections to three banks suspected of involvement in a cartel for euro interest rate derivatives (Crédit Agricole, HSBC and JPMorgan, see EUROPE 11083). In the course of its investigation, the Commission levied fines totalling €669,719,000 on five banks and one cash broker active in the same sector in December 2013. These six companies had admitted their involvement in cartels in the yen interest rate derivatives sector, and their fines were therefore reduced by 10%. The investigation into ICAP is being done under the standard (non-settlement) cartel procedure. The Commission is examinng the foreign currency market, Forex, the Swiss franc derivative market and alleged manipulations of the price of oil and other fossil fuels. (EL)