Banks Back in the FX Legal Firing Line
Posted by Colin Lambert. Last updated: July 26, 2023
The UK Court of Appeal has overturned an earlier decision by the country’s Competition Appeals Tribunal and allowed a class action against six banks for alleged FX market manipulation to proceed on an “opt out” basis.
The case was one of two brought by former Competition Markets Authority chair Phillip Evans – the right of the second application to proceed with a claim was revoked by the Court of Appeal in the same ruling. The Evans suit alleges that Barclays, Citi, JP Morgan, MUFG, NatWest and UBS were involved in anti-competitive conduct and largely follows the claims brought against banks elsewhere in the world, including the US, that their dealers used chat rooms to fix spreads and share customer information inappropriately.
The Ruling last year by the Competition Appeals Tribunal found that the case had to be conducted on an “opt-in” basis, meaning plaintiffs had to apply to be a part of the suit. The CAT said the case could not viably continue in these conditions. By reversing the decision, the case can proceed with potential plaintiffs having to explicitly opt out of the action.
“This ruling acknowledges the practical difficulties of opt-in legal proceedings and confirms the access to justice principle which underpins the collective action regime,” says Evans. “The opt-out approach is crucial to ensure that claims may be pursued on behalf of all affected individuals and businesses.
“I am also pleased that the CAT’s carriage decision was upheld and look forward as class representative to championing the interests of those affected by the banks’ misconduct,” he adds.