Defending the British Bankers’ Association in LIBOR litigation

We acted for 160 member banks of the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), the UK trade body for the banking industry, in defending one of the largest pieces of banking litigation ever brought in the English High Court. Our role was unique in that we represented the entire London banking sector. 

Claims valued at more than $1bn, were issued by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, standing in the shoes of 19 US banks, in New York in 2014, alleging conspiracy and fraud in relation to the daily setting of the US Dollar BBA LIBOR interest rate benchmark during the financial crisis of 2007-2009. The English litigation commenced in 2017.

The challenge

The London action is unprecedented:

• Client group size – no English law firm has ever represented the interests of so many banks in defending substantive claims in High Court litigation.
• Cross-border coordination – the London action was one of ten parallel cases, with four others still outstanding in New York.

Our approach

We acted in the London litigation for more than eight years, developing a highly coordinated strategy to manage the defence of 160 institutions in a single action. Our approach included:

• working closely with our co-counsel, Latham & Watkins in the US, to ensure that the legal arguments and defence strategy were consistent across jurisdictions;
• liaising with other firms acting for individual banks, including Clifford Chance, Hogan Lovells, Gibson Dunn, Slaughter and May and Milbank; and
• ensuring that the collective position of the BBA members was advanced clearly and effectively before the High Court.

Outcome and status

Both the London litigation and FDIC’s claims in the US were settled in August 2025. We are continuing to coordinate with US Counsel in relation to the outstanding US proceedings.