BNY Mellon has agreed to pay a total of $714m to resolve substantially all of the foreign exchange (FX)-related actions currently pending against the company.
The settlement resolves lawsuits filed in 2011 by the United States attorney Preet Bharara in Manhattan, and the New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman.
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The agencies accused the bank of promising clients that they would receive the best possible rate when executing a currency trade.
However, according to the authorities the bank did just the opposite: It provided clients "prices that were at or near the worst interbank rates," enabling the bank to make extra cash during the 2008 financial crisis.
Authorities also alleged the bank of securing better spot prices for itself and profiting on the spread.
The company has agreed to settlements with the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the New York Attorney General (NYAG), the US Department of Labor, the US Securities and Exchange Commission as well as private customer class actions.
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By GlobalDataUnder the settlement, the company has to pay DOJ and NYAG $167.5m, $14m to Department of Labor, $30m to Securities and Exchange Commission, and $335m to settle the customer class action litigation.
The settlement amount is fully covered by pre-existing legal reserves, BNY Mellon said in a statement.
"We are pleased to put these legacy FX matters behind us, which is in the best interest of our company and our constituents. We continue to improve our product offerings to ensure they are meeting client demand and positioning clients to succeed in an increasingly complex financial environment," the statement read.
