Citigroup to settle rate case for $100M

NEW YORK — Citigroup agreed Friday to pay $100 million to settle charges that its bankers manipulated an important interest rate used to price everything from credit cards to mortgages.

It is the latest major bank to settle charges related to the manipulation of the London Interbank Offered Rate, better known as LIBOR.

Citigroup will pay $100 million to the New York attorney general’s office and 41 other states involved with the investigation, including Arkansas, New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood said Friday.

New York has been leading the LIBOR investigations.

The New York attorney general’s office alleged that Citigroup earned millions in revenue off manipulating LIBOR, along with other financial institutions.

LIBOR is priced every day, and is a widely quoted interest rate used to price a myriad of financial instruments. Credit cards interest rates typically use LIBOR as its benchmark, for example.

Citigroup had paid $95 million to European Union authorities back in 2013 over its role in LIBOR manipulation.

The bank said in a statement that Friday’s settlement “represents another significant step for Citigroup in resolving its legacy interbank offered rate litigation.”