Societe Generale to pay $105 million in rate-rigging settlement

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Societe Generale SA agreed to pay $105 million to settle U.S. investor litigation accusing the French bank of violating antitrust law by conspiring with rivals to rig Euribor, a key European interest rate benchmark.

A preliminary settlement was filed late Friday with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, and requires a judge’s approval.

If approved, the accord would mean investors have obtained $651.5 million of settlements with seven banks.

Banks that previously settled for a combined $546.5 million are Barclays Plc, Citigroup Inc, Credit Agricole, Deutsche Bank AG, HSBC Holdings Plc and JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Euribor is the euro-denominated equivalent of the former Libor rate benchmark.

Investors including the California State Teachers’ Retirement System pension fund accused banks of rigging Euribor and fixing prices of Euribor-based derivatives from June 2005 to March 2011 to profit at their expense.

Societe Generale denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle, court papers show.

The case is Sullivan et al v. Barclays Plc et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 13-02811.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)