Goldman, BASF, others in $20 million platinum, palladium price-fixing settlement

Goldman Sachs, German industrial company BASF and two other banks have agreed to pay $20 million to settle a nearly decade-old antitrust lawsuit accusing them of conspiring to suppress platinum and palladium prices.

A preliminary settlement of the proposed class action was filed late Friday and approved by U.S. District Judge Gregory Woods in Manhattan, court records show Monday.

Among the defendants are London-based HSBC and ICBC Standard Bank. All four defendants denied wrongdoing when they agreed to settle.

Platinum and palladium are used in catalytic converters to reduce vehicle emissions, as well as in dentistry and jewelry.

Buyers of platinum, palladium and metals futures accused the defendants of conspiring between January 1, 2008 and November 30, 2014 to manipulate platinum and palladium “fixes” twice a day by sharing customer data, price anticipated by advance. moves and placing fake “fake” orders.

Buyers said lower metal prices reduced the costs banks and their customers paid for platinum and palladium and allowed banks to avoid losses on “short” positions they held in futures markets.

Lawyers for the buyers called the settlement an “excellent” result that was fair, reasonable and appropriate.

They plan to seek up to one-third of the settlement, or $6.67 million, in legal fees, plus up to $600,000 in expenses.

Final approval of the settlement is possible in January.

The suit is one of several in Manhattan court accusing the big banks of colluding in various markets, including interest rate benchmarks, US Treasuries, currencies and commodities.

The case is In re: Platinum and Palladium Antitrust Litigation, US District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 14-09391.

(Reporting by Stempel in New York; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Mark Potter)