Suit against Westpac and ANZ delayed
A lawsuit claiming that Westpac and ANZ manipulated bank bill swap rates has been delayed as regulator ASIC is forced to amend its claims. Westpac and ANZ will produce their defences to the allegations within a few weeks of viewing the new claims, which are set to be filed later this week.

National Australia Bank's defence to similar claims of market manipulation and unconscionable conduct is due to be filed in October.

Unconscionable conduct

But the wording of parts of the NAB statement of claim, which was filed two months after the case against Westpac and three months after the case against ANZ, provided more scope for ASIC to make out its claim of unconscionable conduct, according to legal sources.

The filing of ASIC's newly drafted claims against Westpac and ANZ may coincide with the regulator launching a similar case against Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the only one of the big four banks not to have been sued over the allegations in the Federal Court.

ASIC refused to comment on the timing of any case against CBA. The bank is expecting a claim will be filed later this week.

It is understood CBA has no interest in settling with the regulator so long as it is required to provide an admission of unconscionable conduct. All of the banks are concerned such as admission will expose them to damages claims through class actions, after plaintiff law firm Maurice Blackburn said last month it is investigating such actions.

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The Federal Court has set a provisional trial date for the cases of August 1 next year.

Tried together

In a case management hearing last month, Federal Court judge Jonathan Beach pushed back on ASIC's request for the case against ANZ to be heard first, which could have created a legal precedent to put pressure on the other banks to settle.

Rather, Justice Beach said his "provisional view" is that the three cases be tried together. He wants all the common issues vented at the first stage, and then to hear all the ANZ-specific issues, then the Westpac-specific issues and then the NAB-specific issues.

"I accept that in terms of the detail of some of the allegations and transactions there is still more to be disclosed by ASIC and to be looked at by each of the three banks, but it seems to be in relation to the matters of principle that I think all parties should have a fairly reasonable idea of what those issues of principle are at the moment," the judge said.

Another case management hearing is due to be held on August 22.