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Foreign Exchange Benchmark Rates Antitrust Settlement

Settlement Structure: Claims Made

Active: Closed

Closed Settlement Statement:

According to court documents, the claim submission deadline has passed. Please contact the claims administrator if you have any questions.

Case Summary:

This settlement resolves allegations against some, but not all, of the defendants in this class action, with a total settlement fund of over $2 billion. The complaint alleges that a number of banks and other entities conspired to fix foreign exchange prices, in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act, and to manipulate the foreign exchange market, in violation of the Commodity Exchange Act.

The plaintiffs alleges that the defendants did this through different means, such as manipulating benchmark rates, fixing spreads, and triggering clients stop-loss and limit orders. Because of these actions, plaintiffs allege that they paid higher prices than necessary.

The settling defendants include the following:

  • Bank of America Corporation, Bank of America, N.A., and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated
  • The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd.
  • Barclays Bank PLC and Barclays Capital Inc.
  • BNP Paribas Group, BNP Paribas North America Inc., BNP Paribas Securities Corp., and BNP Prime Brokerage, Inc.
  • Citigroup Inc., Citibank, N.A., Citicorp, and Citigroup Global Markets Inc.
  • Deutsche Bank AG and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.
  • The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and Goldman, Sachs & Co.
  • HSBC Holdings PLC, HSBC Bank PLC, HSBC North America Holdings Inc., HSBC Bank USA, N.A., and HSBC Securities (USA) Inc.
  • JPMorgan Chase & Co. and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.
  • Morgan Stanley, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, and Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC
  • RBC Capital Markets LLC
  • The Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC, and RBS Securities Inc.
  • Societe Generale
  • Standard Chartered Bank
  • UBS AG, UBS Group AG, and UBS Securities LLC

The lawsuit is still proceeding with other defendants who have not settled, including Credit Suisse Group AG, Credit Suisse AG, and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC.

Docket Number:

1:13-cv-07789-LGS

Company: Bank of America

Filing Deadline: March 22, 2018

Class Period: January 1, 2003 to December 15, 2015

Objection Deadline: February 7, 2018

Exclusion Deadline: February 7, 2018

Final Approval Hearing: May 23, 2018

Proof of Purchase:

No, if you file a claim under Option 1, the Estimated Claim Option and defendants’ files have transaction for you. Yes, if you file a claim under Option 2, the Documented Claim Option; you must document your transactions. Claimants with transactions in FX Exchange Traded instruments must submit documentation of their transactions, no matter which option they choose.

Eligibility:

You may be eligible if you belong to either of the following classes.

  • Direct Settlement Class: All persons who, between January 1, 2003 and December 15, 2015, entered into an FX instrument directly with a defendant, a direct or indirect parent, subsidiary, or division of a defendant, a released party, or a co-conspirator, where the persons were domiciled in the US or its territories or, if domiciled abroad, transacted the FX instrument in the United States or its territories.
  • Exchange-Only Settlement Class: All persons who, between January 1, 2003 and December 15, 2015, entered into FX exchange-traded instruments on a US exchange.

The Notice warns that not everyone who fits these descriptions will be eligible. See Notice for a list of exclusions (Question 8) as well as for further information on domicile and locations of transactions.

If you are domiciled in the US or its territories, all of your FX instrument transactions with a defendant during the class period are eligible, no matter where the transactions took place. If you are a US-domiciled entity doing transactions abroad through non-US-domiciled subsidiaries, affiliates, or other foreign entities, they are considered non-US-domiciled entities. If you are domiciled outside the US, your FX instrument transactions traded directly with a defendant and in FX Exchange-Traded instruments during the class period are eligible.

You can only be a member of one class. If you fit the definition for both, you will be considered a member of the Direct Settlement Class. 

Typical Settlement Amount:

Three payment categories: (1) a “de minimis payment” of $15; (2) and “automatic payment” of $150 to claimants whose estimated compensation is $150 or less but more than $15; or (3) a “pro rata share payment” for those whose estimated compensation is over $150, based on a percentage of your eligible participation amount as compared to the sum of others’ amounts.

Total Settlement Amount: $2,310,275,000

Class Representative Proposed Incentive Fee:

Law Firms:
Hausfeld LLP
Scott+Scott

Claim Form: Foreign Exchange Antitrust Litigation Claim Form

Case Name: In re Foreign Exchange Benchmark Rates Antitrust Litigation

Settlement Website: Foreign Exchange Antitrust Litigation Website

Claims Administrator:
Garden City Group, LLC

Claims Administrator Contact Information:

In re: Foreign Exchange Benchmark Rates Antitrust Litigation
c/o Garden City Group LLC
P.O. Box 10239
Dublin, OH 43017-5739
1-888-582-2289
info@FXAntitrustSettlement.com

Tags: Antitrust, Foreign Exchange, Your Bank