Westpac Group entered into agreements to settle with the plaintiffs over the US bank bill swap rate (BBSW) class action and a class action from Rosen Law Firm regarding its AUSTRAC breaches on Thursday.
The first action was filed in August 2016 in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, in relation to trading activity in the Australian BBSW market.
The settlement is subject to negotiation, execution of complete settlement papers and court approval.
Westpac previously raised a provision in relation to the case for its 2020 financial results. The terms of the agreement however are confidential.
The latter case was filed by Rosen in January 2020, in the US District Court for Oregon in relation to market disclosure issues connected to the bank’s reporting obligations from 11 November 2015 to 19 November 2019.
The settlement is subject to court approval.
Westpac reported it would not be material and resolves all claims against it without any admission of liability.
The big four bank is still facing a class action from local firm Phi Finney McDonald over the AUSTRAC violations.
In September, the Australian legal firm told Investor Daily that Westpac’s $1.3 billion fine from AUSTRAC could be key to its case.
Sarah Simpkins
Sarah Simpkins is a journalist at Momentum Media, reporting primarily on banking, financial services and wealth.
Prior to joining the team in 2018, Sarah worked in trade media and produced stories for a current affairs program on community radio.
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