Two former Deutsche Bank traders accused of manipulating the London InterBank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) were indicted by the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) on June 2, 2016. Dubbed “the world’s most important number,” LIBOR is a benchmark for global short-term interest rates that underpins trillions of dollars in mortgages and other debt. The case against the
LIBOR Antitrust Suit Revived
On May 23, 2016, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a judgment which dismissed antitrust claims against 16 big banks. The plaintiffs’ claims arose from the alleged manipulation of what has been called “the world’s most important number”—the London InterBank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”), a primary benchmark for global short-term interest rates. According to the
Government’s Focus on Eradicating Municipal Bond Fraud Is Evident After Two City Officials Are Criminally Charged
On April 14, the Department of Justice charged the supervisor of Ramapo, New York (the city’s top elected official), and the former executive director of the Ramapo Local Development Corp. with criminal securities fraud for allegedly defrauding thousands of municipal bond investors. The charges relate to alleged misstatements and omissions made about Ramapo’s financial condition
Lehman Continues to Defend $3 Billion Suit over Credit-Default Swap Transactions
On April 19, Lehman Brothers Special Financing (“LBSF”), a subsidiary of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (“LBHI”), filed its opposition to a motion to dismiss its breach-of-contract claims related to the Pyxis transaction, one of many credit-default swap (“CDS”) transactions that were terminated as a result of LBHI’s bankruptcy. LBSF argued that the cancellation of its
Six Investment Banks Agree to Pay over $100 Million to Settle Antitrust Claims Concerning Municipal Derivatives
Judge Marrero of the Southern District of New York preliminarily approved a $100 million class settlement on Thursday, and scheduled a hearing on July 8, 2016 to determine whether the settlements should be approved as fair. Objections will be entertained no later than 20 days before the hearing.
The proposed settlement concerns six investment banks
Second Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Commerzbank AG’s Fraud Claims Concerning Collapsed SIV
The Second Circuit affirmed dismissal of Commerzbank AG’s fraud claims concerning a collapsed structured investment vehicle against Morgan Stanley on February 23. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Pub. Sch. Employees’ Ret. Sys. v. Morgan Stanley & Co., No. 13-2095-CV (2d Cir. Feb. 23, 2016).
The case has had a rather convoluted procedural history. Commerzbank brought the
Goldman Sachs Announces $5 Billion Settlement With DOJ
Goldman Sachs announced yesterday that it has agreed in principle to a $5.06 billion settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”), which would resolve claims stemming from several state and federal investigations concerning the investment banking giant’s underwriting and sale of residential mortgage-backed securities (“RMBS”) from 2005 to 2007. To date, the DOJ has
The Supreme Court Will Rule on Puerto Rican Government’s Authority to Restructure Debt
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Friday to consider Puerto Rico’s appeal regarding the Puerto Rico Public Corporation Debt Enforcement & Recovery Act (the “Recovery Act”), which was passed by its legislature last June and would allow Puerto Rico’s public utilities to restructure $20 billion in debt. Puerto Rico’s appeal asks the Court to reverse