For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – April 2, 2013 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include Bank of America Corporation (BAC), Citigroup Inc. (C), Credit Suisse Group AG (CS), Barclays PLC (BCS) and UBS AG (UBS).
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Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:
Relief for Banks Over LIBOR Lawsuit
In an unprecedented development, a U.S. judge dismissed a significant part of the rate-rigging lawsuit that involved some of the world’s biggest financial institutions. The dropping of several charges comes as a major triumph for the banks as they faced claims worth billions of dollars as well as huge litigation expenditures.
U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald in Manhattan dismissed federal antitrust claims and partly rejected the petitioners' claims of manipulation related to commodities. She also discharged racketeering and state-law claims.
However, she allowed certain claims to proceed, which included the loss endured by small traders who gamble on interest rates movements. Any minor movement in interest rates has the capacity to generate marked changes (either huge gains or huge losses) depending on the direction of the rate changes.
A body of plaintiffs had dragged16 banks to court over charges of manipulation of the benchmark interest rate – London Inter bank offered Rate or LIBOR. Bank of America Corporation (BAC), Citigroup Inc. (C), Credit Suisse Group AG (CS), and several others are included in the list of defendants. The rigging put nearly $550 trillion worth of financial products in jeopardy.
The U.S. District Judge, in a 161- page opinion, stated that the ruling came unceremoniously, as several of the banks including Royal Bank of Scotland had already shelled out a hefty penalty in the recent past to regulators in U.S, U.K. and Europe over similar charges. However, she mentioned that the private plaintiffs failed to meet several requirements under the statutes to file the case.
One of the lawyers for the petitioners stated that the plaintiffs were considering several options like re-filing the case, amending the current charges or even appealing against the judge’s ruling. The decision is likely to take some time.
The favorable ruling comes as a massive victory for the banks at a time when these institutions are heavily burdened by multiple legal and regulatory woes. The primary challenge is the repercussion of the dubious sale of perilous mortgage securities prior to the 2008 financial meltdown.
The partial dismissal of this lawsuit has restricted the spiraling expenditure stemming from LIBOR lawsuits to an extent. At present, Barclays PLC (BCS), Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS AG (UBS) have paid $2.5 billion in settlement to U.S. and U.K. regulators. Nearly a dozen firms continue to remain under the lens.
Analysts had put the expected potential compensation to range from $7.8 billion – $176 billion. The dismissal is expected to bring down this mammoth figure and the banks’ litigation expenditure, thus delivering some reprieve.