Berman Tabacco represented Orange County Employees Retirement System (OCERS) in the Australian Dollar LIBOR Antitrust class action, where plaintiffs alleged that traders at large banks manipulated a key currency benchmark at least as early as January 1, 2003, thereby injuring investors. The Bank Bill Swap Reference Rate (BBSW) is a benchmark interest rate intended to represent the observed price of money market instruments traded each Sydney business day. BBSW is used to price trillions of dollars’ worth of Australian-dollar denominated derivatives traded globally, including swaps, foreign exchange forwards, and futures contracts.
The lawsuit alleged that BBSW manipulation was a regular, near-daily occurrence that resulted in tens of millions in extra profits for banks annually. Consequently, investors paid too much and received too little when they invested in the affected derivatives. The complaint asserted claims on behalf of investors under the Sherman Antitrust Act, the Commodity Exchange Act, and other laws.
The case settled for a total amount of $185.875 million, which was approved by the court on November 2, 2022.