Investors have filed many lawsuits in recent years alleging that Wall Street banks and related entities have unlawfully colluded to rig financial and commodities markets to benefit themselves and harm investors. Filed primarily under federal antitrust laws, these cases continue to generate substantial settlements, over $5.8 billion to date, largely because of the banks’ brazen behavior across such a wide array of financial markets. In addition to providing monetary recoveries to investors, these lawsuits also seek to curtail the banks from overcharging investors in the largest and most important financial markets.

This paper is co-authored with Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll.