JPMorgan to pay $99.5 mln to resolve currency rigging lawsuit

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK, Jan 31 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co,the largest U.S. bank, agreed to pay $99.5 million to settle itsportion of an antitrust lawsuit in which investors accuse 12major banks of rigging prices in the $5.3 trillion-a-day foreignexchange market.

Made public on Friday night, the settlement is the first inthe nationwide litigation and resolved claims over JPMorgan'srole in alleged collusion among banks since January 2003 tomanipulate the WM/Reuters Closing Spot Rates, known as the Fix.

It followed the New York-based bank's agreements lastNovember to pay roughly $1 billion in civil penalties to resolverelated claims by U.S. and European regulators.

Investors including hedge funds, pension funds and the cityof Philadelphia accused the 12 banks, which controlled 84percent of the global currency trading market, of having impededcompetition by conspiring to manipulate the Fix in chat rooms,instant messages and emails.

The JPMorgan settlement could form a basis for othersettlements. It followed mediation with Kenneth Feinberg, alawyer who also oversees General Motors Co's program tocompensate drivers over faulty vehicle ignition switches.

In an affidavit, Feinberg called the JPMorgan settlementfair, reasonable and adequate.

"Although such analysis is preliminary, it does appear to beconsistent with Class Lead Counsel's evaluation of JPMorgan'srole in the FX market and JPMorgan's market share over the classperiod (6%)," he said.

JPMorgan did not admit wrongdoing, and the settlementrequires court approval. The bank did not immediately respond onSaturday to a request for comment.

The other bank defendants include Bank of America Corp, Barclays Plc, BNP Paribas SA,Citigroup Inc, Credit Suisse Group AG, DeutscheBank AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc, HSBCHoldings Plc, Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank ofScotland Group Plc and UBS AG.

On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield inManhattan refused to dismiss currency-rigging claims againstthem. Five of those banks have also settled with regulators.

The $99.5 million payment includes $500,000 for notices andadministration. Lawyers for the plaintiffs, led by Hausfeld LLPand Scott & Scott, plan to seek legal fees of up to 30 percentof the settlement funds, court papers show.

The case is In re: Foreign Exchange Benchmark RatesAntitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court, Southern District ofNew York, No. 13-07789. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by KevinDrawbaugh and Stephen Powell)