NEW YORK-Monday 30 July 2018 [ AETOS Wire ]
(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The following is being released by Susman Godfrey L.L.P. and Hausfeld LLP.
There are lawsuits impacting individuals and institutions that entered into over-the-counter financial derivative and non-derivative instruments directly with 17 banks on the U.S. Dollar LIBOR panel from 2007 to 2010 and that received payments tied to U.S. Dollar LIBOR. Settlements totaling $340 million have now been reached with Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft and HSBC Bank plc. Earlier, settlements totaling $250 million were reached with Barclays and Citibank. A Litigation Class represented by the Plaintiffs in this litigation continues to assert claims against Bank of America, N.A. and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. The lawyers for the Litigation Class will have to prove their claims in Court and a trial will be scheduled for a later date. The Litigation Class is seeking to recover money for its members.
The litigation claims that the banks manipulated the U.S. Dollar LIBOR rate during the financial crisis, artificially lowering the rate for their own profit, which resulted in class members receiving lower interest payments for their U.S. Dollar LIBOR-based instruments from the banks than they should have. Plaintiffs assert antitrust, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment claims. Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Bank of America, and JPMorgan Chase deny all claims of wrongdoing.
There are two groups of individuals and institutions that are impacted by these lawsuits.
Litigation Class: Individuals and institutions are included if they reside in the U.S. and directly purchased certain U.S. Dollar LIBOR-based instruments (interest rate swaps or bond/floating rate notes) from Panel Banks (Bank of America, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Barclays, Citibank, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, HBOS, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, Lloyds, Norinchukin, Rabobank, Royal Bank of Canada, Royal Bank of Scotland, Société Générale, UBS, and WestLB), or any of their subsidiaries or affiliates; and pursuant to the instruments, a Panel Bank paid them interest indexed to a 1-month or 3-month U.S. Dollar LIBOR rate set at any time between August 2007 and August 2009. (This means they must have owned the instrument(s) between August 2007 and August 2009.)
Settlement Classes: Individuals and institutions are included if they directly purchased certain U.S. Dollar LIBOR-based instruments from Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Barclays, Citibank, Bank of America, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Citizens Bank, Credit Suisse, HBOS, JPMorgan Chase, Lloyds, Norinchukin, Rabobank, Royal Bank of Canada, Royal Bank of Scotland, Société Générale, UBS, or WestLB (or their subsidiaries or affiliates) in the United States; and owned the instruments at any time between August 2007 and May 2010. The instruments in the Settlement Classes include certain interest rate swaps, forward rate agreements, asset swaps, collateralized debt obligations, credit default swaps, inflation swaps, total return swaps, options, and bonds/floating rate notes.
The Deutsche Bank and HSBC Settlements will create Settlement Funds totaling $340 million that will be used to pay eligible Class Members who submit valid claims. Additionally, Deutsche Bank and HSBC will cooperate with the Plaintiffs in their ongoing litigation against the remaining defendants.
Class Members must submit a Proof of Claim to get a payment. They can submit a Proof of Claim online or by mail. The deadline to submit a Proof of Claim is December 20, 2018. Class Members are entitled to receive a payment if they have a qualifying transaction with Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Barclays, Citibank, Bank of America, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Citizens Bank, Credit Suisse, HBOS, JPMorgan Chase, Lloyds, Norinchukin, Rabobank, Royal Bank of Canada, Royal Bank of Scotland, Société Générale, UBS, or WestLB (or their subsidiaries or affiliates). At this time, it is unknown how much each Class Member who submits a valid claim will receive.
There is no money available now for the Litigation Class and no guarantee that there will be. If money or benefits are obtained in a future trial, Class Members will be notified about how to ask for a share.
Settlement Class Members who do not file a timely claim or who opt out of the Settlements will lose their right to receive money or benefits from the $340 million in settlements with Deutsche Bank and HSBC. Litigation Class Members who elect to opt out of the Litigation Class will not be eligible for any money or benefits obtained in a future trial against, or class settlements with, JPMorgan Chase or Bank of America, unless they timely file their own lawsuit. If Class Members would like to retain their right to file their own lawsuit against Deutsche Bank, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, or Bank of America, they must opt out of the appropriate Class by September 28, 2018. If they stay in the Settlement Classes, they may object to the Settlements by September 28, 2018.
The Court will hold a hearing on October 25, 2018 to consider whether to approve the Settlements and approve Class Counsel’s request of attorneys’ fees of up to one-third of the Settlement Funds, plus reimbursement of costs and expenses. Class Members or their lawyers may appear and speak at the hearing at their own expense.
More information is available about the Settlement Classes on the website, www.USDollarLiborSettlement.com, and in the Long Form Notice accessible on that website, or by calling 1-888-568-7640.
Contacts
Susman Godfrey LLP
Seth Ard, 212-471-8354
sard@susmangodfrey.com
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