Morgan Stanley, Standard Chartered Plc, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd., Société Générale SA and RBC Capital Markets LLC agreed to pay a total of $111.2 million to settle a U.S. lawsuit accusing them of manipulating prices in the foreign exchange market, pending court approval.
The lawsuit was filed in 2014 against 12 companies, including Morgan Stanley, for allegedly conspiring to fix artificial prices on foreign exchange markets. In 2015, Standard Chartered, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Société Générale and RBC Capital Markets were added as defendants in the case.
In 2016, U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield reportedly dismissed some claims in the case, including antitrust claims connected with transactions executed outside the U.S.
The latest settlements require payouts of $50 million from Morgan Stanley, $17.2 million from Standard Chartered, $10.5 million from Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, $18.0 million from Société Générale and $15.5 million from RBC Capital Markets. The settling companies denied wrongdoing, according to court documents filed in a U.S. District Court in New York.
Of the 16 defendants, 14 have settled for a total payout of about $2.12 billion. The remaining defendants, Credit Suisse Group AG and Deutsche Bank AG, have yet to settle.