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The Manipulation Monitor: A Guide to Financial Market Manipulation Antitrust Litigation

Commentary on Antitrust and Other Competition Law Litigation Relating to the Financial Services Industry.
Posted: August 6, 2018

SEF Scuttling? Alleged Manipulation of the Interest Rate Swap Market through Torpedoing of All-To-All Platforms and SEF Marketplaces

Interest rate swaps (IRS) are a frequently traded instruments known for their ability to reduce or increase one’s exposure to changes in interest rates. Buy-side funds and firms historically have been reliant on the major sell-side broker-dealer banks like Bank of America to purchase and sell IRS. However according to a number of actions MDL’d to Interest Rate Swaps Antitrust...

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Posted in Financial Competition Litigation, In re: Interest Rate Swaps Antitrust Litigation, Swap Market Manipulation
Posted: July 30, 2018

Mexican Government Bond Market Manipulation

In our May 17, 2018, post, we alerted you to several lawsuits filed in the Southern District of New York alleging manipulation of the market for Mexican government bonds, and noted that one case had already moved to consolidate with other actions. Since then, on June 18, 2018, the Court granted motions by plaintiffs in all six of the following...

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Posted in Boston Retirement System v. Banco Santander, Financial Competition Litigation, Government Employees' Retirement System of the Virgin Islands v. Banco Santander, In re Mexican Government Bonds Antitrust Litigation, Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority Pension Plan v. Banco Santander, Oklahoma Firefighters Pension & Retirement System v Banco Santander, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority v. Banco Santander, United Food and Commercial Workers Union and Participating Food Industry Employers Tri-State Pension Fund v. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, Government Bond Market Manipulation
Posted: July 20, 2018

“Fixing” with the Fix? Market Manipulation Litigation for Precious Metals and their Spot and Derivatives

There is indeed gold “in them hills” if you are willing to lie to get it, at least according to the allegations in a number of precious metals litigations that have sprung up since 2013. Currently there are no less than two multi-district litigations relating to gold and silver, and a separate action with respect to platinum and palladium. These...

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Posted in Financial Competition Litigation, In re: Commodity Exchange Gold Futures and Options Trading Litigation, In re: London Silver Fixing Antitrust Litigation, In re: Platinum and Palladium Antitrust Litigation, Commodities Manipulation
Posted: July 13, 2018

High Frequency Trading: Trickery Take Two

Hello sports fans, and welcome back—I know you’ve all been standing by for a second slice of the strange and scintillating story of shenanigans in the snarled sphere of HFT. In this supplemental stab at spelling out the slightly circuitous state of the stock exchange nation, we will cover the Exchange Defendant’s renewed motion to dismiss, Plaintiff’s opposition to that...

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Posted in Financial Competition Litigation, High-Frequency Trading
Posted: July 6, 2018

LIBOR Got a Little Bit of Class

In our June 6, 2018, post, we gave an overview of the general factual allegations made in In Re: Libor-Based Financial Instruments Antitrust Litigation, 11-MD-02262 (In re Libor), the multi-district litigation in the Southern District of New York where many civil cases relating to manipulation of LIBOR or the London Interbank Offered Rate for the U.S. dollar have been transferred....

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Posted in Financial Competition Litigation, In re: LIBOR-Based Financial Instruments Antitrust Litigation, Benchmark Rate Manipulation
Posted: June 27, 2018

SSA Swindling?

Even in more niche financial instruments, there are a number of cases asserting allegations of secondary market and bid spread manipulation. This is true of the supranational, sub-sovereign, and agency bond market, better known as the “SSA” market. Since late 2016, 13 actions have been consolidated in In re SSA Bonds Antitrust Litigation, No. 1:16-cv-03711-ER (SDNY) (“In re SSA“). In...

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Posted in Financial Competition Litigation, In re: SSA Bonds Antitrust Litigation, Government Bond Market Manipulation
Posted: June 21, 2018

NY Fines Deutsche Bank $205 Million for Forex Market Manipulation

On June 20, 2018, the New York State Department of Financial Services announced that it has fined Deutsche Bank $205 million for “for violations of New York banking law, including efforts to improperly coordinate trading activity through online chat rooms, improperly sharing confidential customer information, trading aggressively to skew prices, and misleading customers.” DFS found that: a number of Deutsche...

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Posted in Financial Competition Litigation, Foreign Exchange Market Manipulation
Posted: June 20, 2018

Stock Loan Lowdown, Part Two: To Dismiss or Not to Dismiss?

“To dismiss or not to dismiss” is the question that Judge Failla presently mulls, and will likely continue to do for the coming weeks. Or months? Anticipation is running high here at the Manipulation Monitor, so let’s hope it is not a question of years. For those of you who may be wondering what, exactly, is at risk of dismissal,...

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Posted in Financial Competition Litigation, In re: Interest Rate Swaps Antitrust Litigation, Iowa Public Employees' Retirement System v Bank of America Corporation, Stock Loans
Posted: June 20, 2018

JP Morgan Chase Consents to $65 Million Penalty Relating to ISDAfix Manipulation

On June 18, 2018, the CFTC entered an order requiring JPMorgan Chase to pay a $65 million penalty for attempted manipulation of the ISDAfix benchmark rate. The CFTF order states that the CFTC found that between January 2007 and January 2012, JPMorgan Chase “made false reports and attempted to manipulate the U.S. Dollar International Swaps and Derivatives Association Fix (USD...

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Posted in Financial Competition Litigation, Benchmark Rate Manipulation
Posted: June 17, 2018

Citigroup Agrees to Pay $100 Million to Settle State LIBOR Investigations

Bloomberg reports that Citigroup has agreed to pay $100 million to settle claims by 42 states against it relating to”misrepresent[ing] the integrity of the Libor benchmark to state and local governments, not-for-profit organizations and institutional trading counterparties.” According to Bloomberg, “[t]he settlement agreement quoted extensive electronic and phone communications obtained in the case, including a communication on March 28, 2008,...

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Posted in Financial Competition Litigation, Benchmark Rate Manipulation