In yet another antitrust action against the big banks, a recent settlement was announced in the In re LIBOR-Based Financial Instrument Antitrust Litigation. The specific settlement amounts are as follows:
- Bank of America – $5,000,000
- Citibank – $7,025,000
- HSBC – $4,750,000
- JPMorgan Chase – $5,000,000
At this time, additional non-settling defendants include Credit Suisse, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, WestLB AG, and UBS.
It is important to note that this action is separate from previously announced LIBOR settlements and involves different securities / counterparties.
The financial instruments included within this settlement are interest rate swaps, forward rate agreements, asset swaps, collateralized debt obligations, credit default swaps, inflation swaps, total return swaps, options, and floating-rate notes.
Investors are eligible if they transacted with a financial institution in the United States in a U.S. Dollar-Based Instrument, which was owned (or otherwise received interest) based upon U.S. Dollar LIBOR at any time between August 1, 2007 through May 31, 2010.
To date, the top North American antitrust settlements total greater than $7.2 billion and are as follows:
| CASE NAME | # OF DEFENDANTS | YEAR | SETTLEMENT |
| Foreign Exchange Benchmark Rates | 15 | 2018 | $2,310,275,000 |
| Credit Default Swaps | 12 | 2016 | $1,864,650,000 |
| LIBOR-Based Financial Instruments (U.S. Dollar) | 4 | 2018 | $590,000,000 |
| ISDAfix Transactions | 15 | 2018 | $504,500,000 |
| Euro Interbank Offered Rate | 5 | 2018 | $491,500,000 |
| GSE Bonds | 16 | 2020 | $386,500,000 |
| State AG LIBOR / Euribor | 3 | 2018 | $381,350,000 |
| Euroyen-Based Derivatives | 10 | 2017 | $307,000,000 |
| LIBOR-Based Financial Instruments (Eurodollar) | 7 | 2020 | $187,000,000 |
| SSA Bonds | 3 | TBD | $95,500,000* |
| LIBOR-Based Financial Instruments (U.S. Dollar) | 7 | 2020 | $90,400,000 |
| FX Instruments (Canada) | 13 | 2017 | CAD $109,047,205 |
| Mexican Government Bonds | 2 | TBD | $20,700,000* |
*Tentative settlement
A final hearing on this LIBOR case is scheduled for October 5, 2020 at the United States Courthouse in the Southern District of New York. The deadline date to submit eligible claims is January 3, 2021.
ISS Securities Class Action Services will continue to keep its clients abreast of case updates and developments.
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By Jeff Lubitz, Executive Director, and Grace Meyer, Senior Associate, ISS Securities Class Action Services
