Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST—S.D.N.Y.: $58 million settlement preliminarily approved in LIBOR/TIBOR manipulation suit against international banks, (Jun 23, 2016)

By Mark Engstrom, J.D.

The federal district court in New York City has preliminarily approved three settlement agreements between individual and institutional investors and various domestic and foreign financial services companies who allegedly conspired to manipulate the Yen London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and the Euroyen Tokyo Interbank Offered Rate (TIBOR) (Laydon v. The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd., June 22, 2016, Daniels, G.).

The court found that the settlement agreements, which included $58 million in proposed payments by HSBC Holdings and Citigroup, were negotiated and consummated at arm’s length, by experienced counsel, and fell within an acceptable range of reasonableness, fairness, and adequacy. The terms of the proposed plan of allocation, the supplemental agreements, and the proof of claims were also preliminarily approved as being reasonable, fair, and adequate.

For settlements purposes, the settlement class was preliminarily certified. The class was defined as "All Persons that purchased, sold, held, traded, or otherwise had any interest in any Euroyen-Based Derivatives during the period of January 1, 2006 through June 30, 2011 ("Class Period")." Three groups were expressly excluded from the class: (1) the defendants and any parent, subsidiary, affiliate, or agent of any defendant; (2) the "Released Parties" as they were defined in the settlements agreements; and (3) any class member who filed a timely and valid request for exclusion.

The court approved A.B. Data Ltd. as the Settlement Administrator, and scheduled a fairness hearing for November 10, 2016. According to the court, the Settlement Administrator would maintain a settlement website—at www.EuroyenSettlement.com—until the administration of the settlements was terminated. The website would include copies of the settlement agreements and accompanying exhibits, the court’s preliminary settlement order, the mailed and publication notices, and the motions for preliminary approval, with attached exhibits, including the proposed plan of allocation. In addition, the settlement website would identify important deadlines, would provide answers to frequently asked questions, and would be searchable on the Internet.

If the settlements were approved by the court following the fairness hearing, a final approval order and final judgment would be entered as described in the agreements, the court stated.

The case is No. 12-cv-3419 (GBD).

Attorneys: Thomas Michael Skelton (Lowey, Dannenberg, Cohen & Hart, PC) for Jeffrey Laydon. Christopher Michael Viapiano (Sullivan & Cromwell LLP) for The Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. Michael Lloyd Spafford (Paul Hastings LLP) and Anthony R. Van Vuren (Morgan, Lewis & Bockius) for Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. Jerome Steven Fortinsky (Shearman & Sterling LLP) for Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd. Gary W. Kubek (Debevoise & Plimpton, LLP) for The Bank of Yokohama, Ltd.

Companies: The Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd.; Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.; Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd.; The Bank of Yokohama, Ltd.

Cases: Antitrust NewYorkNews