Citigroup, JPMorgan to pay $182.5 million to settle rate-rigging lawsuit

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

BUSINESS NEWS NOVEMBER 23, 2018 / 11:26 AM / UPDATED 19 MINUTES AGO

Citigroup, JPMorgan to pay $182.5 million to settle rate-rigging lawsuit

Jonathan Stempel
2 MIN READ

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc and JPMorgan Chase & Co will pay $182.5 million to settle U.S. investor litigation claiming they violated antitrust law by conspiring with other banks to rig a key European interest rate benchmark.

A preliminary settlement addressing the banks’ alleged manipulation of the European Interbank Offered Rate, or Euribor, was filed on Wednesday night with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, and requires a judge’s approval.

Five banks have reached $491.5 million of settlements in the case, including earlier settlements of $170 million by Deutsche Bank AG, $94 million by Barclays Plc and $45 million by HSBC Holdings Plc.

Euribor is the euro-denominated equivalent of Libor, a benchmark for setting rates on hundreds of trillions of dollars of credit cards, student loans, mortgages and other debt.

Investors including the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) pension fund accused banks of rigging Euribor and fixing prices of Euribor-based derivatives from June 2005 to March 2011 to profit at their expense.

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Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-citigroup-jp-morgan-settlement/citigroup-jpmorgan-to-pay-182-5-million-to-settle-rate-rigging-lawsuit-idUSKCN1NS1SF

[Squinch]

1. Pocket change for them. That was a huge scam, probably made them billions and this is

a slap on the wrist. Encourages them to do it some more.

[Sherman A1]

2. Not nearly enough

It should be 1000 times that amount.