Tag: Barclays

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Article: JPMorgan, UBS among five banks facing £1 billion FX-rigging suit

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JPMorgan, UBS among five banks facing £1 billion FX-rigging suit

Bloomberg, 29 July 2019

London: JPMorgan Chase & Co and UBS Group AG are among five banks being sued over allegations of foreign-exchange rigging in a class-action lawsuit seeking more than £1 billion ($1.2 billion, Dh4.4 billion).

Barclays Plc, Citigroup Inc and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc are also among the targets of the UK suit that will say pension funds, asset managers, hedge funds and corporations lost out because of market manipulation between 2007 and 2013 and should be compensated.

The lawsuit centres on collusion on foreign-exchange trading strategies, for which the European Commission fined Barclays, RBS, Citigroup, JPMorgan and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc a total of €1.07 billion ($1.2 billion) in May. UBS escaped a fine because it was the first to tell regulators about the collusion. Continue reading “Article: JPMorgan, UBS among five banks facing £1 billion FX-rigging suit”

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Article: Swiss regulator to fine banks €80m over foreign exchange cartel

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Swiss regulator to fine banks €80m over foreign exchange cartel

The Irish Times, 06 June 2019

Four British and US banks will be fined about 90 million Swiss francs (€80m) this week by Switzerland’s competition authority for colluding to rig foreign exchange markets, weeks after the European Union handed out €1 billion of penalties for similar misconduct.

Weko, as the Swiss regulator is known, found that traders at Barclays, JPMorgan, Citigroup and Royal Bank of Scotland worked together in a cartel-style arrangement to manipulate currency prices for their own gain, according to people briefed on the decision. Continue reading “Article: Swiss regulator to fine banks €80m over foreign exchange cartel”

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Article: Five Banks Face Lawsuit In Australia for FX Collusion

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Five Banks Face Lawsuit In Australia for FX Collusion

finews asia, 27 May 2019

UBS and Royal Bank of Scotland are among five banks named in a class action lawsuit in Australia relating to collusion on foreign-exchange strategies.

Australian law firm Maurice Blackburn on Monday filed a class-action lawsuit against the five international investment banks, accusing them of colluding to rig foreign exchange rates during 2008-2013 so they can profit. They are UBS, Barclays Bank, Citigroup, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and J.P. Morgan. Continue reading “Article: Five Banks Face Lawsuit In Australia for FX Collusion”

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Article: Citi, JPMorgan, UBS Face Forex Cartel Class Action in Australia

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Citi, JPMorgan, UBS Face Forex Cartel Class Action in Australia

Peter Vercoe, 27 May 2019

Citigroup Inc., Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are among five banks named in a class action lawsuit in Australia seeking damages for colluding on foreign-exchange trading strategies. UBS Group AG and Barclays Plc were also named in the suit lodged Monday in the Federal Court by Maurice Blackburn Lawyers. The action claims the banks colluded to rig foreign exchange rates boosting profits at the expense of Australian businesses and investors, the law firm said in a statement. Continue reading “Article: Citi, JPMorgan, UBS Face Forex Cartel Class Action in Australia”

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Article: UK banks fined €1bn by EU for rigging foreign exchange market

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UK banks fined €1bn by EU for rigging foreign exchange market

Kalyeena Makortoff, 16 May 2019

Five banks including Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland have been fined more than €1bn (£875m) by the European Union for rigging the multitrillion-dollar foreign exchange market.

The European commission said the banks, which also include Citigroup, JP Morgan and MUFG (Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group), formed two cartels to manipulate the spot foreign exchange market for 11 currencies, including the US dollar, the euro and the pound.

The commission’s penalty adds to the £1.3bn in fines imposed by the UK Financial Conduct Authority in 2014 over the same case. While the FCA’s penalty focused on the lender’s breach of regulations, the EU’s fine deals with how their behaviour dampened competition.

“These cartel decisions send a clear message that the commission will not tolerate collusive behaviour in any sector of the financial markets,” the European competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, said in a statement.

The banking industry has been hit with billions in fines worldwide over the last decade for rigging benchmarks used in many day-to-day financial transactions, and are now at risk of private lawsuits.

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Article: UBS agrees to pay $68M in multistate settlement over Libor manipulation claims

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UBS agrees to pay $68M in multistate settlement over Libor manipulation claims

Declan Harty, 21 December 2018

UBS AG agreed to pay $68 million as part of settlement with 39 U.S. states and the District of Columbia related to the Swiss banking giant’s alleged manipulation of the London interbank offered rate.

Led by New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood, the UBS settlement is the latest in a string of agreements state regulators have recently reached with banks that were allegedly altering Libor submissions for their own benefit leading up to and around the financial crisis of 2008.

UBS was accused of misrepresenting its U.S. dollar-tied Libor submissions to protect its reputation, according to a press release from Underwood’s office. The 40 attorneys general who were part of the settlement also claimed UBS manipulated Yen Libor submissions to favor its derivative trading positions. Continue reading “Article: UBS agrees to pay $68M in multistate settlement over Libor manipulation claims”

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Article: EU Regulators Charge Credit Suisse with Rigging FX Markets

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EU Regulators Charge Credit Suisse with Rigging FX Markets

Celeste Skinner, 01 August 2018

Credit Suisse Group AG announced on Tuesday that it has been charged by European Union antitrust regulators with manipulating forex rates. The charges signal the five-year-long investigation might be coming to a close in the near future.

In a regulatory filing, the allegations state that Credit Suisse “engaged in anti-competitive practices in connection with its foreign exchange trading business.” Now, the Wall Street bank will need to wait and see if the EU regulators will impose a fine, which could be up to 10% of its global turnover. Continue reading “Article: EU Regulators Charge Credit Suisse with Rigging FX Markets”

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Article: Deutsche Bank fined $205 million for currency manipulation

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Deutsche Bank fined $205 million for currency manipulation

APNews, 20 June 2018

New York regulators are slapping a $205 million fine on Deutsche Bank, following allegations that traders at Deutsche manipulated the foreign exchange market for years.

Deutsche Bank is the latest Wall Street firm to face penalties for manipulating the $5.3 trillion currency market. Banks such as Barclays, Citigroup and several others have paid hundreds of millions of dollars in fines since the scandal broke several years ago. Continue reading “Article: Deutsche Bank fined $205 million for currency manipulation”

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Article: Goldman Sachs Fined $110 Million to Settle New York FX Probe

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Goldman Sachs Fined $110 Million to Settle New York FX Probe

Aziz Abdel-Qader, 01 May 2018

Goldman Sachs has been slapped with a $110 million fine by New York regulator and Federal Reserve in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the bank’s traders routinely manipulated the forex market for their profit.

New York’s Department of Financial Services also ordered the investment bank to put in place a program to ensure that the alleged violation doesn’t happen again. However, Goldman is not required to hire an outside consultant to review its practices, a condition sometimes imposed on banks fined for compliance violations.

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The DFS said Goldman Sachs had insufficient oversight and controls over its FX traders, who allegedly discussed trading positions with competitors, using electronic chatrooms. The traders frequently tried to trade ahead of big foreign-exchange transactions by their clients, a practice known as front-running.

The order released Tuesday detailed multiple instances of improper behavior, which occurred from at least 2008 to 2015.

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Article: LIBOR, FX and Key Benchmark Rigging Claims against RBS, Barclays, HSBC & Lloyds set to Strengthen for Customers Mis-sold Derivatives

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LIBOR, FX and Key Benchmark Rigging Claims against RBS, Barclays, HSBC & Lloyds set to Strengthen for Customers Mis-sold Derivatives

Jaron Dosanjh, 09 March 2018

The door has been opened by the Court of Appeal in PAG v RBS [2018] for misrepresentation claims to be brought by a counter-party to a derivative which is linked to LIBOR, FX or key benchmark where the Swap is with a bank which has been found to have engaged in the manipulation of a benchmark.

This judgment is now the leading authority on claims concerning a customer’s ability to rescind contracts with a bank that has manipulated the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR). Although this case focused on LIBOR-linked derivatives, the same principles will surely apply to other key benchmark rigging (including the manipulation of FX markets).

This decision will be of particular interest to customers that believe they have been mis-sold a Forex hedging products or a LIBOR-linked derivative. These customers of RBS, Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds Plc may potentially have grounds to rescind the derivative contract if the implied representations made by the banks are considered false due to regulatory findings of benchmark rigging. RBS, Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds Plc have all either undermined the integrity of LIBOR or have been fined for Forex failings.

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Article: Deutsche Bank Securities Fined $70 Million in Manipulation Case

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Deutsche Bank Securities Fined $70 Million in Manipulation Case

TOM BEMIS, 02 January 2018

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., a unit of Deutsche Bank (DB) – Get Report , was fined $70 million as part of a settlement of charges by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission that it attempted to manipulate a key foreign exchange benchmark.

The CFTC found that DBSI made false reports and sought to manipulate the U.S. Dollar International Swaps and Derivatives Association Fix, used as a daily reference in a wide variety of interest-rate products.

The manipulations between 2007 and 2012 sought to benefit DBSI’s derivative positions, the CFTC said in a statement. Continue reading “Article: Deutsche Bank Securities Fined $70 Million in Manipulation Case”

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Article: After the Boss Calls Bitcoin a ‘Fraud’ — JP Morgan Buys the Dip

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After the Boss Calls Bitcoin a ‘Fraud’ — JP Morgan Buys the Dip

Jamie Redman, 16 September 2017

Just recently news.Bitcoin.com reported on JP Morgan executive Jamie Dimon calling bitcoin a “fraud” and claiming he would fire any employee from his firm who traded the digital currency for being “stupid.” Now it seems JP Morgan has been caught red-handed purchasing a bunch of XBT shares, otherwise known as exchange-traded-notes, that track the price of Bitcoin.

According to public records of Nordnet trading logs, the two associated firms JP Morgan Securities Ltd., and Morgan Stanley bought roughly 3M euro worth of XBT note shares. Interestingly after the recent regulatory crackdown in China, and the statements from JP Morgan’s senior executive Jamie Dimon talking trash about bitcoin, his firm bought the dip on September 15. In fact, out of all the companies on the list, like Goldman Sachs and Barclays, the JP Morgan team of buyers purchased the most XBT notes.

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Article: BlackRock, PIMCO said to plan new front in bank FX-rigging cases

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BlackRock, PIMCO said to plan new front in bank FX-rigging cases

Bloomberg, 05 March 2017

Some of the world’s biggest investors are working with a U.S. law firm to prepare a fresh wave of litigation against banks accused of rigging foreign-exchange markets.

BlackRock, Pacific Investment Management Co. and hedge fund BlueCrest Capital Management are working with law firm Quinn Emanuel to recover losses they blame on the manipulation of currency benchmarks, according to two people familiar with the case, who asked not to be identified because nothing has been filed.

The target banks, including Barclays, Citigroup, HSBC Holdings, J.P. Morgan Chase, Royal Bank of Scotland Group and UBS Group, have been fined billions of dollars for conspiring to rig FX benchmarks. The firm, which will probably file lawsuits in London and New York, is trying to attract additional investors, the people said.

Quinn Emanuel’s clients will likely opt out of an existing New York class action over currency manipulation that won a total of about $2 billion in settlements from HSBC, Barclays, RBS, Goldman Sachs Group and others in 2015, according to people with knowledge of the firm’s strategy.

Opting out of the class action would allow large investors to seek higher settlements by pursuing a global strategy that includes the recovery of losses from London, where a significant portion of global trades are settled. The existing class action is limited to transactions that took place in New York.

The two law firms that are running the existing U.S. lawsuit, Hausfeld and Scott + Scott, won’t give up control of the case without a fight.

In an April 24 letter emailed to U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield, lawyers complained that “certain unnamed law firms were sending false and misleading communications to class members to persuade them to opt out of the settlements,” the judge said in a court order Thursday. She set a May 12 deadline for the two firms to make a formal request as to what she should do in response.

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Article: FBI arrests senior HSBC banker accused of rigging multibillion-dollar deal

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FBI arrests senior HSBC banker accused of rigging multibillion-dollar deal

Rupert Neate in New York and Jill Treanor in London, 20 July 2016

Mark Johnson and a colleague allegedly defrauded clients and ‘manipulated the foreign exchange market to benefit themselves and their bank’

A senior HSBC banker has been arrested by the FBI as he attempted to board a transatlantic flight and charged him with fraudulently rigging a multibillion-dollar currency exchange deal.

Mark Johnson, a British citizen and HSBC’s global head of foreign exchange trading, and a colleague are accused of “defrauding clients” and alleged to have “corruptly manipulated the foreign exchange market to benefit themselves and their bank”.

He was arrested on Tuesday night shortly before he was due to fly to London from New York’s JFK airport, and was due to be formally charged by a judge at Brooklyn federal court later on Wednesday. He was later released on bail.

A second Briton, Stuart Scott, who was HSBC’s European head of foreign exchange trading in London until December 2014, is accused of the same crimes. A warrant was issued for Scott’s arrest.

They are the first people to be charged in connection with the US government’s long-running investigation into bankers’ alleged rigging of the $5.3tn (£4tn) per day forex market.

“The defendants allegedly betrayed their client’s confidence, and corruptly manipulated the foreign exchange market to benefit themselves and their bank,” said the US assistant attorney general Leslie Caldwell. “This case demonstrates the [US Department of Justice’s] criminal division’s commitment to hold corporate executives, including at the world’s largest and most sophisticated institutions, responsible for their crimes.”

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Article: Barclays, RBS and others settle U$2bn currency-rigging lawsuits

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Barclays, RBS and others settle U$2bn currency-rigging lawsuits

Jonathan Jones, 14 August 2015

HSBC (LON:HSBA), Barclays (LON:BARC), Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) and two other banks settled on yet more payouts for currency-rigging.

The banks settled with US investors, agreeing to a payout which took the overall total paid to the investors to US$2bn (£1.28bn) from nine banks.

US heavyweight Goldman Sachs and BNP Paribas also settled.

It’s another round of payouts after six banks, including Barclays and RBS were, in May, ordered to pay US$6bn (£3.84bn) by UK and US authorities.

At the time, Barclays was hit with the biggest bank fine in British history.

American investors claimed the banks joined together to manipulate the US$5.3trn a day foreign exchange market.

Legal firm Hausfeld, which represented the investors, said that the agreements were preliminary and subject to approval by US District Judge Lorna Schofield.

As yet, there has been no information on how the sum would be divided between the banks if passed.

“In addition to the billions of dollars in compensation, these settling banks have agreed to cooperate with investors in their continuing litigation” against other institutions, Hausfeld said.

The banks yet to settle are Standard Chartered (LON:STAN), Societe Generale, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, RBC Capital Markets, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley.

The US$2bn includes earlier settlements of US$800mln, with JPMorgan, Bank of America, UBS and Citigroup.

“While the recoveries here are tremendous, they are just the beginning,” said Hausfeld chairman Michael Hausfeld.

“Investors around the world should take note of the significant recoveries secured in the United States and recognize that these settlements cover a fraction of the world’s largest financial market,” he said.

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