April 13 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank AG has agreedto settle U.S. litigation over allegations it illegallyconspired with Bank of Nova Scotia and HSBC HoldingsPlc to fix silver prices at the expense of investors, acourt filing on Wednesday showed.
Terms were not disclosed, but the accord will include amonetary payment by the German bank, a letter filed in Manhattanfederal court by lawyers for the investors said.
Deutsche Bank has signed a binding settlement term sheet,and is negotiating a formal settlement agreement to be submittedfor approval by U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni, whooversees the litigation.
A Deutsche Bank spokeswoman declined to comment. Lawyers forthe investors did not immediately respond to requests forcomment.
Investors accused Deutsche Bank, HSBC and ScotiaBank ofabusing their power as three of the world's largest silverbullion banks to dictate the price of silver through a secret,once-a-day meeting known as the Silver Fix.
According to the lawsuit, the defendants distorted prices onthe roughly $30 billion of silver and silver financialinstruments traded annually, violating U.S. antitrust law.
An HSBC spokesman had no immediate comment. ScotiaBank didnot immediately respond to requests for comment.
The lawsuit is among several in Manhattan federal court inwhich investors accused banks of conspiring to rig rates orprices in financial and commodities markets.
The case is In re: London Silver Fixing Ltd AntitrustLitigation, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York,No. 14-md-02573. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by GrantMcCool)
HSBC Holdings (HSBA)