FAQs – The Forex Claim

The claim is a legal action against Barclays Bank PLC; Barclays Capital Inc.; Barclays Execution Services Limited; Barclays PLC; Citibank N.A.; Citigroup Inc.; JPMorgan Chase & Co.; JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association; J.P. Morgan Europe Limited; J.P. Morgan Limited; NatWest Markets Plc; The Royal Bank Of Scotland Group plc; UBS AG, andMUFG Bank (formerly Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi).All of these banks have been named in one or both of the European Commission decisions dated 16 May 2019.

The European Commission found that in the period from 18 December 2007 to 31 January 2013 “some individual traders in charge of Forex spot trading of these currencies on behalf of the relevant banks exchanged sensitive information and trading plans, and occasionally coordinated their trading strategies through various online professional chatrooms”.

The commercially sensitive information exchanged by the banks in these chatrooms related to: outstanding customers’ orders (i.e. the amount that a client wanted to exchange and the specific currencies involved, as well as indications on which client was involved in a transaction); bid-ask spreads (i.e. prices) applicable to specific transactions; their open risk positions (the currency they needed to sell or buy in order to convert their portfolios into their bank’s currency); and other details of current or planned trading activities.

The information exchanges, following the tacit understanding reached by the participating traders, enabled them to make informed market decisions on whether to sell or buy the currencies they had in their portfolios and when.

Occasionally, these information exchanges also allowed the traders to identify opportunities for coordination, for example through a practice called “standing down” (whereby some traders would temporarily refrain from trading activity to avoid interfering with another trader within the chatroom).

The banks settled with the European Commission, thereby acknowledging their participation in the cartels.

The claim is being brought in the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (also known as the CAT). The Competition Appeal Tribunal is a specialist court based in London. It has cross-disciplinary expertise in law, economics, business and accountancy, and hears and decides cases involving competition or economic regulatory issues. The CAT publishes its Rules and Guidance, together with information about what it does, on its website: www.catribunal.org.uk.

We have secured funding from a highly experienced global litigation funder. In addition, we have obtained after-the-event insurance to meet any adverse costs orders made against us.

Claimants are not required to pay any legal fees, nor do they run the risk of paying the defendants’ costs of defending the litigation.

Nothing. All costs are met by us. We are working with a specialist third party litigation funder to bring the claim. In return for its investment, the funder will receive a fee.

You will be entitled to your share of the damages if the claim is successful at trial or the Competition Appeal Tribunal approves a settlement between the claimants and the banks.

We will run the claim on your behalf so it will involve significantly less work to recover your losses than if you seek to recover your losses on an individual basis.

The claim will be brought at no cost to you, and there is no risk of you being liable for the banks’ costs in the event that the claim is unsuccessful.

The damages suffered by each individual claimant will be based on calculations carried out by experts. The experts will determine the difference between the price of all trades placed by claimants which were artificially inflated as a result of the cartels, and the price which claimants would have paid but for the banks’ manipulation of the market.

The sum of damages that you receive will be calculated by the claims administrator if settlement is reached or the claim is successful.

The legal process could take several years. It is possible that the case will settle without going to trial, in which case compensation could be available sooner.

As with any litigation, there can be no guarantee of recovery. However, there is no cost to you and no risk that you will be ordered to pay the banks’ costs if the claim is unsuccessful.

The best thing to do now if you believe you may have entered into relevant transactions is to register your interest on this website. We will then contact you.

We can conduct an initial assessment of the actual value of your damages. We therefore recommend that investors collect trading data relating to their purchases and sales and send them to us for analysis.

Updates about the claim will be sent to you on a regular basis. You can also check this website for updates and announcements.

The list of those who register on the website is confidential and will be shared only in due course with those instructed to pursue the claim on its behalf (e.g. its lawyers and experts).