Settlements worth US$95.5 million resolving claims that Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, and HSBC Holdings conspired to rig the multi trillion-dollar market for bonds backed by foreign governments and multinational institutions were approved by a federal judge in Manhattan, reported Bloomberg Law.
Judge Edgardo Ramos gave his blessing to the trio of agreements negotiated between 2017 and 2019, which call for Deutsche Bank to pay US$48.5 million, HSBC to pay US$30 million, and BofA to pay US$17 million. The deal resolves part of a sprawling antitrust case against some of the world’s top banks.
It was “honestly negotiated by counsel with significant experience litigating antitrust class actions,” Ramos wrote on April 2. “Success in complex cases such as this one is inherently uncertain, and there is no guarantee that continued litigation would yield a superior result.”
He also awarded US$23.9 million in fees and US$4.6 million in expenses to Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd, which are co-lead counsel for the pension funds behind the case. The fee figure represents one-quarter of the total settlement value.
The multidistrict lawsuit, consolidated in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, accuses the banks of manipulating the US$9 trillion to US$15 trillion market for “supranational, sub-sovereign, and agency” bonds, or SSA bonds.
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Chamber of Commerce Sues to Overturn FTC Non-Compete Ban
Apr 24, 2024 by
CPI
FTC Chief Warns of Healthcare Price Fixing Risks Amid Tech Advancements
Apr 24, 2024 by
CPI
Amazon’s Investment in Anthropic Faces Antitrust Scrutiny
Apr 24, 2024 by
CPI
Italian Antitrust Authority Fines Amazon €10 Million for Unfair Trade Practices
Apr 24, 2024 by
CPI
Tuta Mail Raises Alarm Over Google Search Ranking Plunge Amidst DMA Rollout
Apr 24, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Economics of Criminal Antitrust
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Navigating Economic Expert Work in Criminal Antitrust Litigation
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
The Increased Importance of Economics in Cartel Cases
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
A Law and Economics Analysis of the Antitrust Treatment of Physician Collective Price Agreements
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Information Exchange In Criminal Antitrust Cases: How Economic Testimony Can Tip The Scales
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI