According to an official statement reported by Bloomberg, the French financial prosecutor’s office is examining the operations of five banks as part of an investigation into tax fraud and money laundering.
According to the announcement, the investigation refers to banks located in Paris and the La Défense neighbourhood. The names of the banks involved in the investigation in not public yet.
However, Societe Generale SA announced that a search of its headquarters is underway in connection with the abovementioned investigation.
At the same time, List Monde stated that BNP Paribas S.A., HSBC Holdings Plc, Societe Generale SA and Natixis are under investigation.
Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan were among the biggest winners of the banking crisis
Banks Goleman Sachs, Fidelity and JPMorgan Chase were the biggest winners as investors poured cash into U.S. money market funds in the past two weeks. Concerns about the security of bank deposits arose following the failure of two regional banks and the Credit Suisse bailout agreement.
A record amount of funds of more than $286 billion have been invested in money market funds this March, surpassing the influx from the peak of the COVID-19 crisis, according to the Financial Times. Goldman Sachs took in nearly $52 billion, up 13 per cent since March 9, a day before U.S. authorities seized Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).
JPMorgan acquired almost $46 billion, and Fidelity witnessed inflows of almost $37 billion, as stated in data from iMoneyNet. Money market funds generally carry very low-risk assets that are easy to buy and sell, including short-term U.S. government debt.
Available returns on these investments are now the best in years, as the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates to a 15-year high to curb inflation. There were fewer net inflows in January and February, which have picked up in the last two weeks, with large depositors noticeably looking for a haven.
