July 1 (Reuters) - EU regulators are seeking to settle witha group of banks under investigation for suspected rigging oflending benchmarks Euribor and Libor in a procedure whichincludes lower fines in return for admission of wrongdoing, theEU's antitrust chief said on Monday.
"We are trying to follow the Article 9 route. We hope we areready to adopt a decision towards the end of the year," EUCompetition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia told a news briefing,referring to antitrust rules.
Almunia said some of the banks charged in a creditderivatives investigation on Monday were also involved in theEuribor and Libor cases. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Robin Emmott)