Announcing Class Action Settlements Involving Consumers who Transacted in ISDAfix Instruments Between January 1, 2006 and January 31, 2014

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NEW YORK, Jan. 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- This notice is to alert Settlement Class Members to proposed settlements reached with Defendants Bank of America, N.A.; Barclays Bank PLC and Barclays Capital Inc.; Citigroup Inc.; Credit Suisse AG, New York Branch; Deutsche Bank AG; The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.; HSBC Bank USA, N.A.; JPMorgan Chase & Co.; Royal Bank of Scotland PLC; and UBS AG (collectively, "Settling Defendants") in a class action against the Settling Defendants and B.N.P. Paribas SA, ICAP Capital Markets LLC, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Nomura Securities International, Inc., and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. ("Non-Settling Defendants," and together with the Settling Defendants, "Defendants"). The lawsuit alleges that the Defendants engaged in anticompetitive acts that affected the market for ISDAfix Instruments in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1. The lawsuit also alleges that Defendants were unjustly enriched under common law and breached ISDA Master Agreements. The lawsuit was brought by, and on behalf of, certain persons or entities (together, "Persons") who transacted in ISDAfix Instruments. The Defendants deny doing anything wrong.

For the purposes of these settlements, "ISDAfix Instrument" means (i) any and all interest rate derivatives, including but not limited to any swaps, swap spreads, swap futures, variance swaps, volatility swaps, range accrual swaps, constant maturity swaps, constant maturity swap options, digital options, cash-settled swaptions, physically-settled swaptions, swapnote futures, cash-settled swap futures, steepeners, flatteners, inverse floaters, snowballs, interest rate-linked structured notes, and digital and callable range accrual notes, where denominated in USD or related to USD interest rates, and (ii) any financial instruments, products, or transactions related in any way to any USD ISDAfix Benchmark Rates, including but not limited to any instruments, products, or transactions that reference ISDAfix Benchmark Rates and any instruments, products, or transactions relevant to the determination or calculation of ISDAfix Benchmark Rates. 

Settlements have been reached with the ten Settling Defendants. The lawsuit continues against the five Non-Settling Defendants.  The Settling Defendants have agreed to pay $408.5 million (the "Settlement Fund"). The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York ("Court") authorized this notice.  Before any money is paid, the Court will hold a hearing to decide whether to approve the settlements. Approval of these settlements by the Court will resolve this lawsuit in its entirety with respect to the Settling Defendants.

Subject to certain exceptions, the Settlement Class includes all Persons who, from January 1, 2006 through January 31, 2014, entered into, received or made payments on, settled, terminated, transacted in, or held an ISDAfix Instrument, as defined above.

For anyone unsure if they are a Settlement Class Member, more information, including a detailed notice, is available at www.ISDAfixAntitrustSettlement.com, or by calling 1-844-789-6862 (U.S.), or +1-503-597-5526 (Int.).

Settlement Class Members who do not opt out of the Settlement Class will be eligible to file a proof of Claim Form. The amount of the payment will be determined by a Plan of Distribution. Details about the Plan of Distribution are available at www.ISDAfixAntitrustSettlement.com. A date for distribution of the Settlement Fund has not been set.  Proof of Claim Forms must be submitted by July 16, 2018.

Settlement Class Members who do not opt out will release certain legal rights against the Settling Defendants and the Released Parties, as explained in the detailed notice and settlement agreements, available at www.ISDAfixAntitrustSettlement.com. Settlement Class Members who do not want to take part in the proposed settlements must opt out by April 30, 2018. 

Settlement Class Members may, but do not have to, comment on or object to the proposed settlements, the Plan of Distribution, or Class Counsel's application to the Court for an award of attorneys' fees, expenses, and incentive awards to the Class Plaintiffs for representing the Settlement Class. To do so, Settlement Class Members must file their comments or objections by April 30, 2018.

Information on how to opt out, or file comments or objections, is in the detailed notice available at www.ISDAfixAntitrustSettlement.com.

The Court will hold a hearing on May 30, 2018, at 3:30 pm, at the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse, 40 Foley Square, Courtroom 1105, New York, New York 10007 to consider whether to approve the proposed settlements, the Plan of Distribution, and Class Counsel's application for an award of attorneys' fees, expenses, and incentive awards to the Class Plaintiffs. Settlement Class Members or their lawyers may ask to appear and speak at the hearing at their own expense, but do not have to.

The Court has appointed the lawyers listed below to represent the Settlement Class in this lawsuit:

URL: www.ISDAfixAntitrustSettlement.com

SOURCE United States District Court for the Southern District of New York