Banks Are Ordered by Court to Defend Libor Antitrust Lawsuit

A federal appeals court in Manhattan reinstated a civil antitrust case accusing 16 banks of hurting investors who bought securities tied to Libor by manipulating the interest-rate benchmark.

Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. are among the defendants sued in the civil lawsuit in Manhattan. The appeals court overturned a 2013 ruling by U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald who said the investors had failed to show an antitrust injury that would permit them to sue under U.S. law.

The Libor-tied investments included asset swaps, collateralized debt obligations and forward rate agreements.

About a dozen firms have paid almost $9 billion in fines to resolve investigations around the world into rigging of the key benchmark.

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