BNP Paribas agreed to pay $246 million in fines to settle Federal Reserve charges that the bank and some of its subsidiaries failed to keep its FX traders from using electronic chat rooms to discuss trading positions with competitors. A former employee, Jason Katz, previously pleaded guilty to price fixing charges.

The Federal Reserve’s announcement included the following statement:

The Board levied the fine after finding deficiencies in BNP Paribas's oversight of, and internal controls over, FX traders who buy and sell U.S. dollars and foreign currencies for the firm's own accounts and for customers. The firm failed to detect and address that its traders used electronic chatrooms to communicate with competitors about their trading positions. The Board's order requires BNP Paribas to improve its senior management oversight and controls relating to the firm's FX trading.

The Fed said the Paris-based lender’s deficiencies - which also led to a $350 million settlement in May with the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS) - constituted “unsafe and unsound practices” and ordered the bank to improve its oversight and internal controls over foreign-exchange trading. The Fed’s order focused on the period 2007 and 2013.

BNP Paribas expressed its deep regrets for "the past misconduct which was a clear breach of the high standards on which the Group operates."

[Click here to access the Federal Reserve Orders in the Matter of BNP Paribas, BNP Paribas USA, and BNP Paribas Securities.]