SETTLED
USD LIBOR Lender Settlement
FILING DEADLINES:
09/12/2024 ($1.9 Million The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc, Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A., Lloyds Banking Group plc and HBOS plc, The Norinchukin Bank, Portigon AG, Westdeutsche Immobilien Servicing AG, Royal Bank of Canada)
($36.185 Million Citibank, HSBC Bank, Barclays Bank plc, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America, UBS AG, Deutsche Bank AG, Credit Suisse Group AG and MUFG Bank)
CASE NUMBER:
12-cv-5723 U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
CLASS PERIOD:
August 1, 2007 – May 31, 2010
TOTAL SETTLEMENT FUND:
$38,085,000.00
SETTLING DEFENDANTS
Citibank, HSBC, Barclays, JPMorgan, Bank of America, UBS, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, MUFG, RBS, Rabobank, Lloyds, HBOS, Norinchukin, Portigon, ImmobilienBank, & RBC
ELIGIBLE CLASS
You are included in the Settlement if you (lending institution) are:
- Headquartered in the United States, including United States territories; and
- Originated loans, held loans, held interests in loans, owned loans, owned interests in loans, purchased loans, purchased interests in loans, sold loans, or sold interests in loans with interest rates based upon U.S. Dollar LIBOR (“U.S. Dollar LIBOR‑Based Loans”), which rates adjusted at any time between August 1, 2007, and May 31, 2010.
You are not a member of the Class, even if you meet the above criteria, if you are:
- One of the Defendants or alleged co‑conspirators or their employees, officers, or directors;
- One of the Defendants’ parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, legal representatives, heirs, successors, assigns, or any person acting on their behalf;
- An entity in which any Defendants have a controlling interest;
- Any judicial officers presiding over the Lender Action and the members of his/her immediate families and judicial staff.
Investment vehicles are not excluded from the Class solely because they are, or are managed by, affiliates or subsidiaries of the Defendant. “Investment vehicles” are any investment company, separately managed account or pooled investment fund, including, but not limited to: (i) mutual fund families, exchange‑traded funds, fund of funds and hedge funds; and (ii) employee benefit plans.
ELIGIBLE INSTRUMENTS
U.S. Dollar LIBOR-based loans that include any term, provision, obligation or right to be paid or to receive interest based upon U.S. Dollar Libor, but excluding other types of USD Libor-based instruments such as interest rate swaps or bonds.
Preliminary Allegations
The complaint alleged that throughout the Class Period, Defendants caused the USD LIBOR to be manipulated by knowingly and intentionally submitting false data to BBA, which did not honestly reflect the submitting banks actual borrowing costs on the interbank market.
Defendants had two reasons to falsify their submissions. First, the Contributing Panel banks did not want to signal their own distress by admitting publicly that their peers were reluctant to lend to them except at elevated rates. Second, due to their own net interest rate exposure, at least some of the Contributing Panel banks stood to reap large financial benefits from even a modest decrease in USD LIBOR.
Case Summary
Class action brought asserting claims of common law fraud on behalf of all lending institutions headquartered in the states and territories of the United States that originated, purchased outright, or purchased a participation interest in, loans paying interest at rates tied to the U.S. Dollar London Interbank Offered Rate (USD LIBOR),1 the interest rate of which adjusted at any time between August 1, 2007 and May 31, 2010.
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Case UpdatesBanks on the U.S. Dollar LIBOR panel (and their affiliates) around the world were sued by lending institutions (“Plaintiffs”) who claim that the banks manipulated U.S. Dollar LIBOR during the financial crisis, artificially lowering the rate. Plaintiffs claim that Settling Defendants and other banks manipulated U.S. Dollar LIBOR, and that, as a result, institutions that originated, held, purchased or sold loans or interests in loans tied to U.S. Dollar LIBOR did not receive as much in interest payments for their U.S. Dollar LIBOR-based loans or interests in loans as they should have and/or paid more or received less than they should have in connection with such transactions. Settling Defendants deny these claims and maintain they did nothing wrong. Plaintiffs in the Lender Action have brought (a) common-law fraud and (b) conspiracy to commit fraud claims against Settling Defendants. Plaintiffs’ fraud claims have been sustained against all Settling Defendants (except for BBA). Moreover, on February 28, 2018, the Court denied The Berkshire Bank’s motion for class certification. In so doing, the Court held, among other things, that a class action is not appropriate because (i) common issues do not predominate over individual ones; (ii) class-action status would not be superior to the maintenance of individual actions; and (iii) the proposed class representative, The Berkshire Bank, did not meet the adequacy of representation requirements imposed by Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a)(4). Aside from class settlements, Plaintiffs are continuing to pursue only their individual claims. The Berkshire Bank petitioned the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to review the Court’s denial of class certification. The Court of Appeals denied that petition. Given the Court of Appeals’ decision, the only remaining avenue for reversal of the denial of the Berkshire Bank’s motion for class certification is an appeal taken after the entry of final judgment on the merits. Accordingly, settlements are likely to be the only way that Lender Class Members will achieve any recovery through the Lender Action. Previous settlements resolving the claims against Citibank, N.A., Citigroup Inc., HSBC Bank plc, HSBC Holdings plc, Barclays Bank plc, JPMorgan Chase & Co., JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Bank of America Corporation, Bank of America, N.A., UBS AG, Deutsche Bank AG, Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc. Credit Suisse Group AG and MUFG Bank, Ltd. f/k/a The Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. were granted final approval on December 20, 2018, May 26, 2020, March 15, 2021, and July 26, 2022. |
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Next StepsIf you are a U.S.-headquartered lending institution that owned, held, purchased or sold a loan or an interest in a loan with interest payable to you at a rate based upon U.S. Dollar LIBOR anytime between August 1, 2007, and May 31, 2010, should contact Battea Class Action Services today. |
BRIEF COMPANY PROFILE
Name: USD LIBOR Lender Settlement
Website: http://www.lendersliborsettlements.com