Six investment banks, including UBS, Societe Generale, and Natixis Funding Corp., have agreed to pay more than $100 million to class action claims that they fixed prices and rigged bids for municipal derivatives, which could bring to an end a multidistrict litigation filed in New York.
UBS will shoulder the largest share of the settlement, paying $32 million, following by Natixis at $28.4 million. Societe Generale will pay $25.4 million, and the remaining firms of Piper Jaffray, National Westminster Bank, and George K. Baum Co. will pay from $1.4 to $9.75 million.
The settlements apparently took into account the banks’ relative abilities to pay and their profits derived from the alleged price fixing.
If approved, the settlement will follow others in years past by Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, and others, pushing the total amount recovered for the class to more than $225 million.
The original litigation dates back to 2008, when other municipalities and public entities filed suit against 37 different financial institutions alleging that they stifled competition or gave a false appearance of competition in the municipal derivatives market. The plaintiffs alleged that the conspiracy dated back as far as 1992.
Do You Think Your Case Calls for One or More Class Action Claims?
The attorneys at Dimond Kaplan & Rothstein, P.A. have recovered more than $100 million from banks and brokerage firms and their employees for their wrongful actions. If you have suffered investment losses of any type, contact us to schedule an appointment or consultation today.
