Deutsche Bank to pay $170 mn private suit settlement in US

US regulators imposed billions of dollars in fines on large banks for the interest rate manipulation

Germany's Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay $170 million to settle a private lawsuit charging it conspired with other major banks to rig a key interest rate, according to a US court filing yesterday.

The class-action case concerns alleged fixing of the Euribor benchmark interest rate used for a wide range of financial instruments.

Deutsche Bank, which has set aside 3.2 billion euros for litigation, in this case, declined comment on the filing from attorneys representing a group that includes the California State Teachers' Retirement System, which requests court approval of the deal.

The agreement is the third involving a large bank in the Euribor-fixing case after Barclays previously agreed to pay $94 million and HSBC $45 million. The court already approved those settlements.

Plaintiffs have accused large banks from 2005 to 2011 of manipulating Euribor, which is used for numerous financial contracts, including credit cards and student loans.

Other banks named in the litigation include BNP Paribas, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase.

US regulators have imposed billions of dollars in fines on large banks for the interest rate manipulation.