[ by Howard Haykin ]

Sixteen mulitnational bank defendants in a Libor-related lawsuit filed by private plaintiffs, shared a moment of celebration when a U.S. District Court Judge on Friday dismissed most of the claims against them, including treacherous antitrust and racketeering charges. 

See our related story - posted Monday in Behind The News [Libor Lawsuits Dismissed vs. Multinational Banks] - that looks at the basis for Federal Judge Naomi Buchwald's momentous decision in favor of the 16 bank defendants - even the 3 banks that settled their government Libor investigations, at a cost of $2.5 billion in penalties and guilty pleas by 2 Japanese subsidiaries. 

The link for the 16 bank defendants is that ...  each served on the U.S. dollar Libor panel of the British Bankers' Association ("BBA") during the alleged conspiracy and their corporate affiliates.  So as not to be confused, the BBA established Libor based on the rates that designated banks for each currency would have to pay for an unsecured loan for each designated maturity period.  Libor for each currency is set by the BBA and its respective panels of member banks.

Presenting the 'Sweet 16' Banks and Their Subsidiaries:  

1. Credit Suisse Group AG;
2. Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America, N.A.);
3. JP Morgan Chase & Co.  (JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A);
4. HSBC Holdings plc  (HSBC Bank plc);
5. Barclays Bank plc;
6. Lloyds Banking Group ;plc;
7. WestLB AG   (Westdeutsche Immobilienbank AG);
8. UBS AG;
9. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc;
10. Deutsche Bank AG;
11. Citibank NA  (Citigroup Inc.);
12. Coöperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen Boerenleenbank B.A.;
13. The Norinchukin Bank;
14. The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd.;
15. HBOS plc;
16. Royal Bank of Canada.

For further details, go to:  [Hausfeld LLP Info Center, May 2012].