The Wall Street Journal cited people familiar with the matter as saying that the 4pm fix, which is a core currencies benchmark, became a primary focus of the recent investigation into alleged faulty practices in the industry.
The lenders will begin levying the fees once a new way of calculating the benchmark commences on 15 February.
State Street’s unit, which generates the fix at 4pm time of London, announced its new approach in November.
This approach basically involves taking an average price for trades conducted over five-minute slot rather than the present one-minute period. This change, suggested by international regulators, is expected to make it tougher for bank traders to impact prices, reported the publication.
Earlier these transactions were conducted by banks at no cost.
Based on the client requirements, the fees levied will change, sources told the publication.
In November 2014, six banks had to pay $4.3bn to regulatory authorities in the US, UK and Switzerland over allegations that they allowed traders to share information and earn unfair profits at the expense of their customers.
Image: Banks will charge fee from 15 February. Photo: courtesy of scottchan/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net
