FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS RELEASE
October 25, 2017
For More Information, contact:
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Steve Marshall
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Page 1 of 2
Alabama Attorney General
AG MARSHALL ANNOUNCES A $220 MILLION MULTI-
STATE SETTLEMENT WITH DEUTSCHE BANK FOR
MANIPULATING INTEREST RATE BENCHMARKS
LIBOR manipulation hurt government and not-for-profit counterparties
in Alabama and across the nation
(MONTGOMERY)–Attorney General Steve Marshall today announced a $220
million multi-state settlement with Deutsche Bank for fraudulent conduct involving the
manipulation of LIBOR. The London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) is a benchmark
interest rate that affects financial instruments worth trillions of dollars and has a
widespread impact on global markets and consumers.
A multi-state investigation by Attorneys General revealed that Deutsche Bank
manipulated LIBOR in a number of ways. Deutsche Bank employees improperly (a)
made internal requests for LIBOR submissions to benefit Deutsche Bank’s trading
positions; (b) attempted to influence other banks’ LIBOR submissions in a manner
intended to benefit Deutsche Bank’s trading positions; and (c) received communications
from inter-dealer brokers and external traders attempting to influence Deutsche Bank’s
LIBOR submissions. At times, Deutsche Bank LIBOR submitters and supervisors
expressly acknowledged and indicated they would work to implement the requests
they received.
Given this conduct, Deutsche Bank LIBOR submitters and management had
strong reason to believe that Deutsche Bank’s and other banks’ LIBOR submissions did
not reflect their true borrowing rates (as they were supposed to do pursuant to
published guidelines) and that the LIBOR rates submitted by the banks did not reflect
the actual borrowing costs of Deutsche Bank and other panel banks.
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501 Washington Avenue * Montgomery, AL 36104 * (334) 242-7300
www.ago.state.al.us Page 2 of 2
Deutsche Bank employees did not disclose these facts to the governmental and
not-for profit counterparties with whom Deutsche Bank executed LIBOR-referenced
transactions even though these rates were material terms of the transactions.
Government entities and not-for-profit organizations in Alabama and
throughout the U.S., among others, were defrauded of millions of dollars when they
entered into swaps and other investment instruments with Deutsche Bank without
knowing that Deutsche Bank and other banks on the U.S. Dollar (USD)-LIBOR-setting
panel were manipulating LIBOR.
Governmental and not-for-profit entities with LIBOR-linked swaps and other
investment contracts with Deutsche Bank will be notified if they are eligible to receive a
distribution from a settlement fund of $213.35 million. Eligible entities will be contacted
directly and informed how to make application. The balance of the settlement fund will
be used to pay costs and expenses of the investigation and for other uses consistent with
state laws.
Deutsche Bank is the second of several USD-LIBOR-setting panel banks under
investigation by the State Attorneys General to resolve the claims against it, and has
cooperated with the investigation. The Attorney General’s Office benefits from the
information and evidence provided by corporations that timely cooperate with the
Attorney General’s investigations. Such cooperation can facilitate civil enforcement
efforts, including the distributions of funds for victims of the offense.
The states joining the Deutsche Bank settlement include: Alabama, Alaska,
Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware,
Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio,
Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah,
Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. The investigation into
the conduct of several other USD LIBOR-setting panel banks is ongoing.
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