Barclays will not face ‘dark pool’ lawsuit

BARCLAYS has won a significant legal victory after a judge ruled the bank will not face a lawsuit by investors over claims it favoured certain traders in its so-called “dark pools”.

The bank, along with seven US stock exchanges, saw legal action thrown out by US District Judge Jesse Furman in Manhattan last night.

Mr Furman ruled that investors, including Great Pacific Securities, failed to show how Barclays’ actions could have affected the price of securities in the dark pool or that the bank made misleading statements.

“The plaintiffs do not allege any actions by Barclays that meet th[e] definition [of manipulative acts],” the judge ruled, adding: “The plaintiffs ... do not point to any statements by Barclays that could have affected the price at which they decided to trade.”

Great Pacific also failed to show that it would have acted differently had it known about the types of traders operating in the pool.

Barclays said it was “pleased with the court’s ... decision dismissing all the allegations in the complaints”.

Barclays still faces similar claims by the New York State Attorney General.