Citigroup reaches $23m 'ice breaker' yen libor settlement

Citigroup Inc will pay $23 million to end private US antitrust litigation claiming that it conspired to manipulate the yen Libor and Euroyen Tibor benchmark interest rates.

Lawyers for the plaintiff investors called the accord an "ice breaker" that could spur some of the roughly 20 other bank defendants to settle. Settlement papers were filed on Monday night in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan. Court approval is required.

RP Martin, a brokerage whose main assets are now part of BGC Partners Inc, also settled, without making a payment. Citigroup and RP Martin agreed to cooperate in the litigation.

Danielle Romero-Apsilos, a Citigroup spokeswoman, said the New York-based bank is pleased to settle. BGC, also based in New York, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Investors including the California State Teachers' Retirement System and J. Kyle Bass' hedge fund Hayman Capital Management LP accused banks of conspiring to rig yen Libor, Euroyen Tibor and Euroyen Tibor futures contracts to benefit their own trading positions from 2006 through at least 2010.

Among the other defendants are several Japanese banks, including Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc, as well as Barclays Plc, Deutsche Bank AG, HSBC Holdings Plc , JPMorgan Chase & Co and UBS AG.