E.U. fines three banks $520 million

Pre-reading questions:

  1. What is the most famous bank in your country?
  2. Are banks good or bad? Discuss.

JPMorgan Chase, HSBC and Credit Agricole were charged by European Union officials a total of $520 million. They were fined for secretly working together to control the market. They also illegally shared important information to get more money. Four banks were fined for the same reasons three years ago. According to a European Union official, if banks continue to have this kind of control, only a few can benefit.

Vocabulary:
European Union [proper noun] – a union of 28 states that are located primarily in Europe
charge [verb] – to ask an amount of money for something
fine [verb] – to charge someone an amount of money as a punishment for not obeying a rule or law
market [noun] – the business or trade in a particular product

True or False:

  1. JPMorgan Chase, HSBC and Credit Agricole were charged by European Union officials.
  2. JPMorgan Chase, HSBC and Credit Agricole were fined a total of $502 million.
  3. The banks were fined for secretly working together to help the poor.
  4. The banks illegally shared information to give more money.
  5. Three years ago, four banks were fined by EU for the same reasons.