Source: Law360 | Author: Evan Weinberger
Deutsche Bank AG on Friday agreed to pay $190 million to settle allegations that it rigged foreign exchange rates, making it the latest in a line of global banks that have settled class action claims totaling $2.3 billion to date.
Deutsche Bank agreed in Friday’s settlement to cooperate with the plaintiffs in their pursuit of the last holdout bank under the forex-rigging charges. (Getty)
Under the settlement, which was filed in federal district court in Manhattan on Friday, Deutsche Bank agreed to cooperate with the plaintiffs in their pursuit of the last holdout bank. Deutsche Bank is the 15th of 16 banks that were sued over claims they were part of a scheme to manipulate foreign exchange markets over an approximately six-year period.
Only Credit Suisse AG remains a holdout among the banks that were included in the sprawling multidistrict litigation, which just covers U.S.-related claims.
“With this fifteenth settlement, we now have over $2.3 billion to distribute to class members that suffered losses from this longstanding and unlawful scheme to manipulate the foreign exchange market,” David Scott, managing partner of Scott+Scott LLP and interim co-lead class counsel, said in a statement.
However, Scott+Scott is looking to pursue cases outside of the U.S. as well, which could result in even larger settlements.
“We will pursue claims against the remaining bank in our U.S. case, and now look forward to obtaining relief for our clients that traded outside the United States, which is an even larger market,” Scott said.
Representatives for Deutsche Bank declined to comment.
The action, first filed in 2013 amid regulatory probes, accused major financial institutions of engaging in a scheme to rig the $6 trillion foreign exchange market from at least 2007 to 2013. Lianne Craig, a partner with Hausfeld LLP in London, issued a statement suggesting there’s additional recovery to be obtained on behalf of investors around the world.
Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Lorna D. Schofield gave preliminary approval to a $111.2 million settlement with Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd., Morgan Stanley, RBC Capital Markets LLC, Societe Generale and Standard Chartered PLC.
Christopher M. Burke of Scott+Scott told Judge Schofield at that hearing that the plaintiffs had agreed to terms with one of the two then-outstanding banks, but did not disclose which bank that was.
Friday’s filings show that Deutsche Bank was the unnamed bank.
Judge Schofield gave preliminary approval to a $2 billion settlement the plaintiffs reached with JPMorgan Chase & Co., Barclays PLC, HSBC Holdings PLC, The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., BNP Paribas SA, UBS AG and Bank of America Corp. in December 2015.
Interim co-lead class counsel is David R. Scott, Christopher M. Burke, Sylvia M. Sokol, Joseph P. Gugliemo, Donald A. Broggi, Peter A. Barile III, Thomas K. Boardman, Walter W. Noss, Kristen M. Anderson, Stephanie A. Hackett and Jennifer J. Scott of Scott + Scott Attorneys At Law LLP and Michael D. Hausfeld, Bonny E. Sweeney, Reena A. Gambhir, Timothy S. Kearns, Nathaniel C. Giddings, and Sarah R. LaFreniere of Hausfeld LLP.
Deutsche Bank is represented by Robert Khuzami and G. Patrick Montgomery of Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Joseph Serino and Eric F. Leon of Latham & Watkins LLP.
The case is In re: Foreign Exchange Benchmark Rates Antitrust Litigation, case number 1:13-cv-07789, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
–Additional reporting by William Gorta and Melissa Daniels. Editing by Emily Kokoll.
Original Article: https://www.law360.com/articles/969549/deutsche-bank-to-pay-190m-in-forex-rigging-deal