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		</div><p><a href="http://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/banks-criticised-over-fees-rise.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full" title="Banks such as Goldman Sachs will not be referred to the Competition Commission for investigation, the Office of Fair Trading said" src="http://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/min-banks-criticised-over-fees-rise.jpg" alt="Banks such as Goldman Sachs will not be referred to the Competition Commission for investigation, the Office of Fair Trading said"/></a></p>
<p>The banks involved in raising more than £50 billion for some of the UK&#8217;s biggest companies as they recovered from the recession have been criticised for their anti-competitive fees.</p>
<p>The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) found investment banks charged £1.4 billion to FTSE 350 companies in 2009 for share placings as they lifted fees to more than 3%, compared to 2% before the 2007 crisis.</p>
<p>But the consumer watchdog fell short of referring the equity underwriting market, which includes US giants such as Goldman Sachs, to the Competition Commission for investigation. </p>
<p>Instead, the authority recommended companies and shareholders should increase the pressure on banks to offer more competitive prices.</p>
<p>The watchdog conducted a six-month investigation into the equity underwriting market after concerns were raised over competition and the level of charges reaped from recession-hit companies.</p>
<p>City groups with investment banking divisions that handle share placings in the UK include part-nationalised Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays.</p>
<p>The OFT study followed mounting worries over the amount of money charged by banks in the recession at a time when a slew of listed companies were forced to turn to investors to shore up their balance sheets through placings.</p>
<p>Banks themselves admitted they had benefited from the lack of competition, and a number of figures, including former City minister Lord Myners, were vocal in condemning the fees being charged.</p>
<p>But the OFT said the concerns could be tackled most efficiently by companies and shareholders themselves, rather than further intervention by competition authorities.</p>
<p>Sonya Branch, OFT senior director of services and public markets, said: &#8220;Our in-depth study has found that the market is not working well, with little effective competition on underwriting fees. We have identified a number of options which would enable companies and institutional shareholders to drive greater competition for themselves, which we believe is the most effective and efficient way forward.&#8221;</p>
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