Banks 'violating competition rules'

Investment banks are back in the firing line after European officials accused 13 of the industry's biggest firms of violating competition rules.

The European Commission said it suspected that the banks, including Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, UBS and Credit Suisse, blocked two exchanges from full trading in credit default swaps, a form of insurance that pays out when a company or country fails to honour a debt.%VIRTUAL-SkimlinksPromo%