Crédit Agricole has lost its first appeal against the multi-million euro fine imposed by European Union (EU) antitrust authorities in 2021 for taking part in a bond cartel, according to a statement from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) published on Wednesday.

The European Commission had imposed a fine of 3.9 million euros on the French banking group, considering that it had participated in a cartel in the sector of suprasovereign bonds, sovereign bonds and US-dollar-denominated public agency bonds ("SSA Bonds").

"We take note of the EU General Court's decision. We are carefully examining the EU General Court's ruling and are considering appealing this judgment," Crédit Agricole said in a statement sent to Reuters, recalling that "the fine has already been paid and will therefore have no impact on our future results."

Crédit Suisse, now part of UBS, also lost its first appeal against the 11.9 million euro fine imposed by the European Commission.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, which also took part in the cartel, was fined 12.6 million euros, while Deutsche Bank, which alerted the EU antitrust authority, avoided a fine of 21.5 million euros.

The Luxembourg-based CJEU sided with the European competition authority.

"The General Court of the European Union confirms the Commission's finding of infringement and upholds the amount of the fines imposed in 2021", said the CJEU.

According to the Commission, traders from the four banks agreed on trading strategies, exchanged sensitive price information and coordinated on prices for five years via discussion forums on Bloomberg terminals.

(Reported by Foo Yun Chee, with contributions from Mathieu Rosemain, Bertrand De Meyer, edited by Augustin Turpin)