ICAP plc & Two Japanese Banks Dismissed from LIBOR Class Action

According to a court decision made by the District Court of New York, inter-dealer broker ICAP plc has been dismissed from a class action lawsuit against the company and a number of financial institutions defending themselves against Libor Libor Libor stands for London Inter-bank offered rate. It is an industry-specific term which most of us would never have heard of until the "Libor scandal" became popularized in 2012. Libor is considered to be one of the most important interest rates in finance, upon which trillions of financial contracts rest. The Libor rate effects over $800,000,000,000,000 in financial deals. Banks simply cannot lend money to one another whenever they like as there is a system in place. Every day a group of leading Libor stands for London Inter-bank offered rate. It is an industry-specific term which most of us would never have heard of until the "Libor scandal" became popularized in 2012. Libor is considered to be one of the most important interest rates in finance, upon which trillions of financial contracts rest. The Libor rate effects over $800,000,000,000,000 in financial deals. Banks simply cannot lend money to one another whenever they like as there is a system in place. Every day a group of leading Read this Term.

The decision excludes the London-based inter-dealer broker ICAP plc from any potential litigation costs related to the case. After a big selloff of the company’s shares in the aftermath of the LIBOR investigations, the company’s stock market performance has recently been stabilizing.

Shares of the company have traded higher by almost 56% during the past couple of months after Volatility Volatility In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Traders In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Traders Read this Term began returning to the capital markets in August 2014.

The case also dismissed two Japanese major financial institutions – Mizuho and Resona.

The decision excludes the London-based inter-dealer broker ICAP plc from any potential litigation costs

Back in February, the European Commission fined the UK-based broker over $16 million (€15 million) for having breached EU antitrust rules. The company has been charged with facilitating the operations of several cartels in the Japanese yen LIBOR rates fixing.

The European Commission has already fined a number of banks, including UBS, RBS, Deutsche Bank, Citigroup, JPMorgan and the broker RP Martin in December 2013, after the firms admitted their participation in cartels manipulating the Japanese yen LIBOR rates.

ICAP Plc Revamps Shipping Business

In a separate announcement, ICAP plc announced today that the firm has formed a new venture with Howe Robinson Group Pte Ltd related to its shipping business. The name of the new company is Howe Robinson Partners with ICAP taking a 35% shareholding.

The new venture will be headquartered in Singapore employing about 240 employees across offices in London, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Gibraltar, Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong. ICAP intends to transfer its India, Dubai and US operations to Howe Robinson Partners shortly. ICAP’s Forward Freight Agreements business will continue to be run by ICAP Energy, while working closely with Howe Robinson Partners.

The Chairman of ICAP Energy, Paul Newman, said in the announcement, “Howe Robinson and ICAP Shipping are highly complementary global businesses. The new venture will enable us to better service the diverse needs of our clients operating across multiple locations and market segments, now and into the future.”