Blogs

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: October 2, 2018

Mexican Government Bond Defendants Seek Dismissal–Part 1

In this post, we cover a recently filed motion by the defendants in In re Mexican Government Bonds Antitrust Litigation, 18-cv-02830, (In re MGB) to dismiss Plaintiffs’ Consolidated Amended Class Action Complaint (the “Complaint”) for failure to state a claim. The motion to dismiss is available here. Certain of the defendants also have filed a motion to dismiss for lack...

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Posted in Financial Competition Litigation, In re Mexican Government Bonds Antitrust Litigation, Government Bond Market Manipulation
Posted: September 24, 2018

Alleged Aluminum Allocation Fixing

This week we cover the allegations in the multi-district litigation In re: Aluminum Warehousing Antitrust Litigation, 1:13-md-02481-KBF (SDNY) (“In re Aluminum Antitrust Litigation”). We will leave a discussion of the subsequent motion to dismiss briefing and decision, and the appeals to a later date. In short, the Plaintiffs in In re Aluminum Antitrust Litigation allege that Defendants created a monopolistic...

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Posted in Financial Competition Litigation, In re: Aluminum Warehousing Antitrust Litigation, Commodities Manipulation
Posted: September 18, 2018

The VIX is Fixed?! A Preview of the Tricks

A new [academic] year, a new manipulation to monitor. Today’s subject is none other than the fixing of the VIX. It’s time for a trip back in time. Not very far back, though – just to the 23rd of May, 2017, the date on which John Griffin and Amin Shams published Manipulation in the VIX?, a 37-page (or 57-with-references), extensively...

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Posted in In re: Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index Manipulation Antitrust Litigation, Financial Competition Litigation, Commodities Manipulation
Posted: September 10, 2018

The LIBOR Over-the-Counter Defendants Argue That Their Transactions Were Above the Board

In this post, we provide an update on our August 20, 2018, post that reported on the motion of LIBOR Defendants Bank of America, N.A. and JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (together, the “OTC Defendants” or “Defendants”) for partial judgment on the pleadings, under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(c) to dismiss the OTC Plaintiff Class’ antitrust claims, and the...

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Posted in Financial Competition Litigation, Benchmark Rate Manipulation
Posted: September 4, 2018

SSA Swindling? – Part II – Dismissal With Leave to Replead for Failure to Allege Injury in Fact

This week, we follow last week’s dismissal of In re SSA Bonds Antitrust Litigation, No. 1:16-cv-03711-ER (SDNY) (“In re SSA“), an action first introduced in our June 27, 2018, post, where one can find a full account of the alleged collusion in the Amended Complaint. In this post, we focus on the Defendants’ December 12, 2017, Joint Memorandum of Law...

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Posted in Financial Competition Litigation, In re: SSA Bonds Antitrust Litigation, Government Bond Market Manipulation
Posted: August 27, 2018

Stock Loan Lowdown: Fourth Time’s (still not quite) the Final . . . and Time Will Tell if it’s the Charm

Hello again, fair followers. Presented today for your pleasurable perusal is this pithy pandect of the penultimate paper in the Prime Broker Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss procedure. If perhaps you are pondering the precise past of Defendant’s process in pushing back, I present the proximate program over which I propose you pore: – Stock Loan Lowdown – Stock Loan Lowdown,...

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Posted in Financial Competition Litigation, Stock Loans
Posted: August 20, 2018

LIBOR–The Over-the-Counter Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss

In this post, we cover recently filed briefing 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 comprised of actions filed across the United States since 2011 relating to manipulation of LIBOR (the London Interbank Offered Rate) for the U.S. dollar. Some may find it hard to...

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Posted in Financial Competition Litigation, In re: LIBOR-Based Financial Instruments Antitrust Litigation, Benchmark Rate Manipulation
Posted: August 13, 2018

Stock Loan Lowdown: Third Time Through the Order

Welcome back, followers, friends and fellow antitrust fans, to this third installment of the Stock Loan Lowdown. This time around, we examine the full-blown fortress forged by our persistent plaintiffs in response to the defendants frighteningly (or frustratingly?) far-reaching motion to dismiss. If you’re new around here and wondering just what that motion said, who the parties are, or why...

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Posted in Financial Competition Litigation, Iowa Public Employees' Retirement System v Bank of America Corporation, Stock Loans
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