Judge Gives Preliminary Approval to $111m Settlement Over FX Rigging Lawsuit

Five major banks, including Morgan Stanley, have received preliminary approval to pay out $111.2 million in collective penalties to settle their involvement in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that their traders routinely manipulated the Forex Forex Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Read this Term market for their own profit.

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One month after being tasked with reviewing the pending Settlement Settlement Settlement in finance refers to the process when a buyer makes payment and receives the agreed-upon services or goods. The term is used on exchanges such as New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) when security changes hands. When the asset is transferred and placed in the new buyer's name, it is considered settled. This process could take a few hours or several days after a trade is made. It depends on the clearance process. In the United States, the settlement date for marketable stocks is usually 2 Settlement in finance refers to the process when a buyer makes payment and receives the agreed-upon services or goods. The term is used on exchanges such as New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) when security changes hands. When the asset is transferred and placed in the new buyer's name, it is considered settled. This process could take a few hours or several days after a trade is made. It depends on the clearance process. In the United States, the settlement date for marketable stocks is usually 2 Read this Term, US District Judge Lorna A. Schofield gave her preliminary approval to a deal that will settle claims over fraudulent activity going back to 2007. A final hearing for the settlement is set after a few weeks.

The settlement announced last month concerns Morgan Stanley ($50 million), RBC ($15.5 million), Societe Generale ($18 million), Standard Chartered ($17.2 million) and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ ($10.5 million). In agreeing to settle, the banks have denied wrongdoing.

The preliminary cash settlement with investors, led by Kenneth Feinberg, was disclosed in papers filed in the US District Court in Manhattan in July, and required a judge’s approval.

They join the nine banks who settled earlier in the year, and the total payouts to investors now amount to more than $2.12 billion, court papers show. Credit Suisse Group AG and Deutsche Bank AG have yet to settle.

Other defendants include Bank of America, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS.

Investors including hedge and pension funds accused the 16 banks, which controlled more than 80 percent of the global forex market, of having conspired since 2007 in chat rooms, instant messages and emails to manipulate the WM/Reuters closing spot rates.

The investors said that traders used chat rooms with names such as ‘The Cartel’, ‘The Bandits’ Club’ and ‘The Mafia’ to swap confidential orders, and set prices through manipulative tactics with colorful names such as ‘front running’, ‘banging the close’ and ‘painting the screen’.