June 28 (Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc., HSBC Holdings Plc, and eight other international banks operating in China were punished for breaking currency-control rules, the Financial Times reported, citing an unidentified government official.

Standard Chartered Plc and Bank of East Asia Ltd. were also among those punished, the newspaper reported, without naming the six others. The banks allegedly helped channel large amounts of foreign capital into the nation's stock and real estate markets, the Financial Times said.

Citigroup spokesman Stephen Thomas said the bank hasn't been told by the government that it's being punished. HSBC spokeswoman Dandan Chang and Standard Chartered spokeswoman Eva Chow also said their banks haven't been notified of any punishment. Bank of East Asia officials weren't immediately available for comment.

China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange said on June 26 it had punished 19 local and 10 foreign banks for breaking currency rules in a probe that started last year.

(Financial Times, 6-28, p1)

To contact the reporter for this story: Josephine Lau in Beijing at jlau22@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 27, 2007 20:54 EDT