A class action is a lawsuit in which one or more representative plaintiffs bring a lawsuit on behalf of themselves and other similarly situated persons (i.e., a class) who have similar claims against the defendants. The representative plaintiffs, the Court, and counsel appointed to represent the class all have a responsibility to make sure that the interests of all class members are adequately represented.

In this class action lawsuit, the class has been certified only as to specific issues (referred to as “Threshold Issues”), which will be decided at trial on your behalf unless you exclude yourself. Members of the Litigation Class will not receive any monetary recovery as a result of the trial. If the Threshold Issues are decided in favor of the Litigation Class at trial, then a class member may only recover monetary damages from the CS Defendants if he/she/it brings an individual action.

(collapse all)

You received this Notice because you requested it or records indicate that you may be a member of the Litigation Class. As a potential member of the Litigation Class, you have a right to know about the Litigation Class. This Notice explains the Action, the Litigation Class, and your legal rights.

(collapse all)

Class Plaintiffs allege that Defendants conspired to fix prices in the FX market in violation of Sections 1 and 3 of the Sherman Antitrust Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1, 3. Class Plaintiffs allege that this conduct was carried out through a number of different means.

As described in the Third Consolidated Amended Class Action Complaint (“Complaint”), spreads are the difference between the rate at which a Defendant indicated it would buy a currency and the rate at which a Defendant would sell a currency. Class Plaintiffs allege that Defendants discussed and agreed upon spreads through communications in chat rooms and other means. The alleged conspiracy to fix spreads is alleged to have reduced competition in the FX market and artificially increased the spread, with the result that Defendants bought currency at a lower price than they would have absent the alleged conspiracy, sold currency at a higher price than they would have absent the alleged conspiracy, and quoted less competitive spreads than they would have absent the alleged collusion.

You may obtain more information regarding the specific allegations in this Action by reviewing the Complaint.

(collapse all)

The Settlement Class was broader than the Litigation Class and applied for settlements approved on August 6, 2018. Litigation Class Members include persons who, between December 1, 2007 and December 31, 2013, entered into a total of 10 or more FX spot, forward, and/or swap trades directly with a Defendant in the Affected Currency Pairs via voice or on a single-bank platform where Defendants provided liquidity, and such Persons were either domiciled in the United States or, if domiciled outside the United States, traded in the United States.

The timeframe of eligible trades for the Settlement Class was between 2003 and 2015 and included more FX market transactions than are eligible in the Litigation Class.

(collapse all)

There are two groups of Defendants in the Foreign Exchange Benchmark Rates Antitrust Litigation.

The Defendants going to trial are Credit Suisse Group AG, Credit Suisse AG, and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC.

The Settling Defendants in the Foreign Exchange Benchmark Rates Antitrust Litigation are Bank of America Corporation, Bank of America, N.A., and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated; The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd.; Barclays Bank PLC and Barclays Capital Inc.; BNP Paribas Group, BNP Paribas North America Inc., BNP Paribas Securities Corp., and BNP Prime Brokerage, Inc.; Citigroup Inc., Citibank, N.A., Citicorp, and Citigroup Global Markets Inc.; Deutsche Bank AG and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.; The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and Goldman Sachs & Co.; HSBC Holdings PLC, HSBC Bank PLC, HSBC North America Holdings Inc., HSBC Bank USA, N.A., and HSBC Securities (USA) Inc.; JPMorgan Chase & Co. and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.; Morgan Stanley, Morgan Stanley & Co., LLC, and Morgan Stanley & Co., International PLC; RBC Capital Markets LLC; The Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC, and RBS Securities Inc.; Société Générale; Standard Chartered Bank; and UBS AG, UBS Group AG, and UBS Securities LLC.

(collapse all)

In the Court’s Class Certification Order, the Court certified a Litigation Class comprised of:

All Persons who, between December 1, 2007 and December 31, 2013 [the “Class Period”] entered into a total of 10 or more FX spot, forward, and/or swap trades directly with one or more Defendants in the 52 Affected Currency Pairs via voice or on a single-bank platform, where Defendants provided liquidity [“Eligible Trading”] and such Persons were either domiciled in the United States or its territories, or if domiciled outside the United States or its territories, traded in the United States or its territories.

(collapse all)

If you engaged in Eligible Trading and are domiciled in the United States (or its territories), then you are a member of the Litigation Class. However, to the extent U.S.-domiciled persons transacted abroad, including through non-U.S. domiciled subsidiaries, affiliates, or other foreign legal entities, such transactions were not traded in the United States under the Court’s Class Certification Order, and if you transacted exclusively in this way, then you are not a member of the Litigation Class.

If you engaged in Eligible Trading and are domiciled outside of the United States (or its territories), then you are a member of the Litigation Class only if ten or more of your eligible FX spot, forward, and/or swap transactions were traded in the United States.

(collapse all)

The following currency pairs, defined as the “Affected Currency Pairs,” are included in the Litigation Class:

1. CURRENCY PAIR (SYMBOLS) - CURRENCY PAIR

1. AUD/CAD - Australia Dollar/Canada Dollar
2. AUD/JPY - Australia Dollar/Japan Yen
3. AUD/NZD - Australia Dollar/New Zealand Dollar
4. AUD/USD - Australia Dollar/United States Dollar
5. CAD/CHF - Canada Dollar/Switzerland Franc
6. CAD/JPY - Canada Dollar/Japan Yen
7. CHF/JPY - Switzerland Franc/Japan Yen
8. EUR/AUD - Euro/Australia Dollar
9. EUR/CAD - Euro/Canada Dollar
10. EUR/CHF - Euro/Switzerland Franc
11. EUR/CZK - Euro/Czech Republic Koruna
12. EUR/DKK - Euro/Denmark Krone
13. EUR/GBP - Euro/Great Britain Pound
14. EUR/HUF - Euro/Hungary Forint
15. EUR/ILS - Euro/Israel Shekel
16. EUR/JPY - Euro/Japan Yen
17. EUR/NOK - Euro/ Norway Kroner
18. EUR/NZD - Euro/New Zealand Dollar
19. EUR/PLN - Euro/Poland Zloty
20. EUR/RON - Euro/Romania Leu
21. EUR/RUB - Euro/Russia Ruble
22. EUR/SEK - Euro/ Sweden Krona
23. EUR/TRY - Euro/Turkey Lira
24. EUR/USD - Euro/United States Dollar
25. EUR/ZAR - Euro/South Africa Rand
26. GBP/AUD - Great Britain Pound/Australia Dollar
27. GBP/CAD - Great Britain Pound/Canada Dollar
28. GBP/CHF - Great Britain Pound/Switzerland Franc
29. GBP/JPY - Great Britain Pound/Japan Yen
30. GBP/NZD - Great Britain Pound/New Zealand Dollar
31. GBP/USD - Great Britain Pound/United States Dollar
32. NZD/JPY - New Zealand Dollar/Japan Yen
33. NZD/USD - New Zealand Dollar/United States Dollar
34. USD/CAD - United States Dollar/Canada Dollar
35. USD/CHF - United States Dollar/Switzerland Franc
36. USD/CNH - United States Dollar/China Yuan
37. USD/CZK - United States Dollar/Czech Republic Koruna
38. USD/DKK - United States Dollar/ Denmark Krone
39. USD/HKD - United States Dollar/Hong Kong Dollar
40. USD/HUF - United States Dollar/Hungary Forint
41. USD/ILS - United States Dollar/Israel Shekel
42. USD/INR - United States Dollar/India Rupee
43. USD/JPY - United States Dollar/Japan Yen
44. USD/MXN - United States Dollar/Mexico Peso
45. USD/NOK - United States Dollar/ Norway Kroner
46. USD/PLN - United States Dollar/Poland Zloty
47. USD/RON - United States Dollar/Romania Leu
48. USD/RUB - United States Dollar/Russia Ruble
49. USD/SEK - United States Dollar/Sweden Kroner
50. USD/SGD - United States Dollar/Singapore Dollar
51. USD/TRY - United States Dollar/Turkey Lira
52. USD/ZAR - United States Dollar/South Africa Rand

(collapse all)

FX spot, forward, and/or swap transactions are included if they occurred through voice trading or on a single-bank platform. Examples of single-bank platforms include Barx, PrimeTrade, Neo, Velocity, and Autobahn. Trades conducted over multi-bank platforms are not included. Examples of multi-bank platforms include EBS, Reuters, Hotspot, and Currenex.

Exchange-traded instruments, such as FX futures contracts or options on FX futures, are not included. Transactions in which the class member provided liquidity to the Defendant are not included. Transactions in currencies other than the 52 Affected Currency Pairs are not included. Transactions that resulted from resting orders are not included. Transactions at benchmark rates are not included. Transactions between a Defendant’s foreign desk and a U.S. domiciliary operating abroad are not included.

(collapse all)

If you are still not sure whether you are included, you can ask for free help. You can call toll-free 1-888-582-2289 (if calling from outside the United States or Canada, call 1-330-333-7253).

(collapse all)

If you are a member of the Litigation Class, do not want to remain in the Litigation Class, and do not want to be bound by any Court rulings regarding the Threshold Issues, then you must have taken steps to exclude yourself from the Litigation Class. This is also sometimes referred to as “opting out” of a class.

If you excluded yourself from the Litigation Class, you may seek to pursue separate litigation against the CS Defendants on your own. In any separate litigation between you and the CS Defendants, neither you nor the CS Defendants will be bound by any rulings of the Court regarding the Threshold Issues. Furthermore, if any future class settlements with the CS Defendants are reached, you will not receive any money. Class Counsel will no longer represent you with respect to any claims against the CS Defendants.

If you have a pending lawsuit against any of the Defendants involving the same legal issues as in this Action, speak to your lawyer immediately. You must have excluded yourself from the Litigation Class or else you will be bound by any rulings of the Court regarding the Threshold Issues.

(collapse all)

You may have excluded yourself by sending a written “Request for Exclusion” to the Notice Administrator by February 17, 2021. Any Settlement Class Member who did not submit a valid request will remain a member of the Litigation Class and will be bound by any rulings of the Court regarding the Threshold Issues.

(collapse all)

No, the prior settlements provided Settling Defendants with a release of claims. You can only sue the Settling Defendants if you opted out of the Settlement Classes by February 7, 2018. If you did not opt out by that date, then you cannot sue the Settling Defendants because you are bound by the Final Judgments entered in the Action on August 6, 2018

(collapse all)

No. If you excluded yourself, you are no longer a member of the Litigation Class and may not participate in any future class settlements.

(collapse all)

No. If you did not exclude yourself, you are a member of the Litigation Class and will be bound by any decisions ordered for the class as a whole, including any rulings on the Threshold Issues or any future class settlements. If you did not exclude yourself from the Litigation Class, you will not be able to exclude yourself if any future class settlements are reached with the CS Defendants on behalf of the Litigation Class.

(collapse all)

The only issues that will be decided at trial on your behalf are: (1) the existence of a conspiracy and (2) the CS Defendants’ participation in the conspiracy (the “Threshold Issues”). The Litigation Class will not receive any monetary recovery as a result of the trial. If at the trial the Threshold Issues are decided in the Litigation Class’s favor, then a class member may only recover monetary damages from the CS Defendants if he/she/it brings an individual action.

(collapse all)

The date and location of the trial have not yet been set. The CS Defendants intend to move the Court to enter summary judgment against Class Plaintiffs before trial. If the Court grants the CS Defendants’ motion, this Action will be resolved in their favor. If the Court denies their motion, the case will proceed to trial to decide the Threshold Issues. The date and location of the trail have not yet been set. Information about the trial will be posted on the Important Dates page.

(collapse all)

No. Class Counsel will represent the Litigation Class at trial. You and/or your own lawyer may attend at your own expense.

(collapse all)

No. If after trial on the Threshold Issues, the CS Defendants are found to have participated in the conspiracy, as a member of the Litigation Class, you will not have to prove these issues of liability if you later decide to file your own lawsuit seeking to prove that the CS Defendants are responsible for economic harm you may have suffered as a result of the unlawful conduct.

You will be solely responsible for pursuing any such lawsuit and with the assistance of a lawyer of your own choosing. If you would like legal representation on individual issues, such as pursuing a lawsuit for monetary damages, you may ask Class Counsel to represent you individually. You may also hire your own lawyer.

Any class member wishing to pursue a claim for damages should consult a lawyer to prevent a claim for damages from being barred forever under the applicable statutes of limitations.

(collapse all)

The Court has appointed the lawyers listed below to represent you for the Threshold Issues trial in this Action:

Christopher M. Burke Scott+Scott, Attorneys at Law, LLP 600 W. Broadway Suite 3300 San Diego, CA 92101 Telephone: 619-233-4565 cburke@scott-scott.com

Michael D. Hausfeld Hausfeld LLP 888 16th Street N.W. Suite 300 Washington, DC 20006 Telephone: 202-540-7200 mhausfeld@hausfeld.com

These lawyers are called Class Counsel. If you would like legal representation on individual issues, such as pursuing a lawsuit for monetary damages if there is a favorable decision on the Threshold Issues, you may ask Class Counsel to represent you individually. You may also hire your own lawyer.

(collapse all)

If you remain in the Litigation Class, you will not owe money to Class Counsel for attorneys’ fees or expenses related to the Threshold Issues trial. However, if the Litigation Class prevails at trial, the case settles, or if the CS Defendants ultimately pay money to Litigation Class members who proceed to file individual lawsuits for damages, then Class Counsel may ask the Court to award them attorneys’ fees and expenses that would be paid directly from the CS Defendants or taken out of any funds paid by the CS Defendants to Litigation Class members.

(collapse all)

This Notice summarizes the Litigation Class and the status of the Action. More details are in the Court’s Class Certification Order, which is available for your review on the Important Documents page. You may also call toll-free 1-888-582-2289 (if calling from outside the United States or Canada, call 1-330-333-7253) or write to the Notice Administrator at:

In re Foreign Exchange Benchmark Rates Antitrust Litigation c/o Epiq Global P.O. Box 10239 Dublin, OH 43017-5739

(collapse all)