Barclays and the question of reliance

25 February 2022Municipal FinanceBarclays, litigation, LOBOs, Newham councilNick Dunbar

An eve-of-trial settlement between Newham Council and Barclays brings a decade-long saga to an end but leaves open a key question in UK law.

Italian derivatives opera

10 February 2021Articlesinterest rate swaps, litigation, sovereign debt, swaptionsNick Dunbar

Italian courts are prosecuting former officials involved in derivatives terminated by Morgan Stanley nine years ago. But the US bank actually did Italy a favour, unlike the country’s other sovereign counterparties.

Burning down the house

7 February 2015Structured productsCDOs, credit ratings, litigationNick Dunbar

Ten years after Lehman, nothing evokes the crisis better than the plunge in collateralised debt obligations that was a key indicator of systemic risk at the time. This article includes a visualisation of a unique ratings agency database that will be kept on this site as a matter of public record. They rated every deal,…

The New York Fed, Goldman and Regulating Conflicts

17 October 2013BanksGoldman Sachs, litigation, New York Fed, regulationNick Dunbar

In a week dominated by the government shutdown, the most interesting financial regulatory story to come out of the US was the lawsuit by former employee Carmen Segarra against the New York Fed. The lawsuit, which was first reported by Propublica on October 10 and widely covered afterwards, alleges that the NY Fed unjustly fired…

ICAP, the half-way house on the road to Libor reckoning

27 September 2013Banks, MarketsICAP, interest rate benchmarks, litigation, operational risk, RBS, regulation, UBSNick Dunbar

What are we to learn from the charges that came out against interdealer broker ICAP and its staff over the manipulation of Libor rates? In three separate regulatory complaints, from the UK Financial Conduct Authority, US Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Department of Justice, once again we read emails and chat logs outlining intent to…

Quantitative Easing, Interest-Rate Derivatives: A Toxic Combination

17 May 2013Banks, Commentderivatives, interest rate risk, litigation, municipal finance, RBSNick Dunbar

Quantitative easing has resulted in collateral damage. Municipalities, public-owned entities and small companies have been damaged as a result of derivatives contracts that locked them into paying high interest rates before the full effect of QE became apparent. Investment banks that sold such contracts have been accused of mis-selling them, lawsuits are winding their way…