UK ‘rigging’ lawsuits against banks a step closer
BRITISH and European investors could get a chance to open lawsuits against banks accused of rigging financial markets following a string of settlements in cases in the US, lawyers believe.
Another five major banks accused of foreign-exchange rigging have settled claims in a New York court with complainants, including pensions funds and institutional investors.
They join the four banks who settled earlier this year. The total payouts to investors now exceed $2bn (£1.3bn).
The settlement announced this week covers Barclays, Goldman Sachs, RBS, HSBC and BNP Paribas. The investors are still pursuing claims against Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, RBC Capital Markets, Société Générale, Standard Chartered, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley.
As well as giving payments to the plaintiffs, the settling banks have also agreed
‘It has provided us with intimate knowledge of this conspiracy and the foreign exchange market’
to co-operate with the claimants, which lawyers say has opened up a trove of extra information that could be used in cases in the UK.
“We have been working on this case for several years, which has provided us with intimate knowledge of this conspiracy and the workings of the foreign exchange market, and that gives us a tremendous leg-up in prosecuting the litigation against the non-settling banks,” said David Scott, of Scott and Scott, one of the firms representing the claimants.
“Our case is limited to the US right now, but I think it really shows that if and when we avail ourselves of the European judicial system, there should be an opportunity for non-US claimants to seek redress.”
The cases in the US were brought under anti-trust rules, which limit the class action to US claimants. As London hosts the largest chunk of the foreign exchange markets, it is a leading candidate for future civil claims.
Scott and Scott is setting up a UK office after inquiries from investors interested in pursuing cases related to the foreign exchange markets.