By Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) - Deutsche Bank AG (DE:DBKGn) agreed to settle U.S. lawsuits accusing it of conspiring with other banks to manipulate gold and silver prices at investors' expense, court papers show.
The settlements were disclosed in letters filed in Manhattan federal court by lawyers representing investors and traders who accused Deutsche Bank of violating U.S. antitrust law.
Terms were not disclosed, but both settlements will include monetary payments by the German bank. Deutsche Bank also agreed to help the plaintiffs pursue claims against other defendants.
The gold settlement was disclosed on Thursday, and the silver settlement on Wednesday.
Both agreements require further documentation, and must be approved by U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni.
Deutsche Bank spokeswoman Amanda Williams declined to comment.
The plaintiffs accused Deutsche Bank of conspiring with Bank of Nova Scotia (TO:BNS), Barclays Plc (L:BARC), HSBC Holdings Plc (L:HSBA) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) to manipulate prices of gold, gold futures and options, and gold derivatives through twice-a-day meetings to set the so-called London Gold Fixing.
They also accused Deutsche Bank, HSBC and ScotiaBank of a similar conspiracy to manipulate silver prices by rigging the daily Silver Fix.
UBS AG (S:UBSG) was also accused in both lawsuits of conspiring to exploit metals prices.
Representatives of ScotiaBank, Societe Generale and UBS declined to comment on Thursday. The other banks were not immediately available for comment but have declined to discuss ongoing litigation.
The lawsuits are among several in Manhattan federal court in which investors accuse banks of conspiring to rig rates or prices in financial and commodities markets.
The cases are In re: Commodity Exchange Inc Gold Futures and Options Trading Litigation, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 14-md-02548; and In re: London Silver Fixing Ltd Antitrust Litigation in the same court, No. 14-md-02573.