US: Judge approves antitrust suit against 6 banks

An antitrust lawsuit filed against six major banks—Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, and UBS Group—in August 2017, received a US District Judge’s approval on Thursday, September 27. The lawsuit alleged the banks jointly manipulated a competitive scenario in the stock lending market since 2009.

The banks have been given four weeks’ time to formally respond to the complaint made by 5 pension funds.

The decision came as a response to the request of dismissing charges that these banks had put forth in February 2018 to the US District Judge Katherine Polk Failla in Manhattan. The banks had argued that the allegations put forth were “implausible on its face.”

The pension funds accused the banks of stifling growth of start-up lending platforms AQS and SL-x by threatening and discouraging their potential clients. Also, the lawsuit claims that the banks violated federal antitrust law. Moreover, the funds claimed the conspiracy by the banks harmed investors and retirees by forcing them to pay high fees to engage in stock lending.

Full Content: CNBC