UK FX Rigging Class Action Goes to Next Stage

A class action lawsuit against a group of banks for alleged manipulation of FX markets moves a stage further this week as the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal conducts the Certification and Carriage Hearing to decide if one of two suits can proceed.

Barclays, Citi, JP Morgan, MUFG, NatWest and UBS are the six banks facing the action from both a class led by former head of the UK Pension Regulator, Michael O’Higgins, as well as one from Phillip Evans, former inquiry chair at the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority. The suits were filed in 2019 and the Tribunal first heard submissions in February 2020 before the global pandemic delayed proceedings, which are set for the whole of this week.

The charges make familiar reading for followers of the Bloomberg chat room saga, and rely heavily upon the findings of various authorities and the settling of actions by the aforementioned banks in 2018. Dealers are accused of inappropriately sharing information and colluding to move markets around customer stop-loss and fixing orders.