Citigroup, RBS Sued by DZ Bank Over $641 Million in Bonds
Citigroup Inc. (C), Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and UBS AG (UBS) were sued in separate cases in New York, accused of fraud in the sale of a total of $845 million in mortgage securities.
DZ Bank AG sued Citigroup and RBS, while HSH Nordbank AG sued UBS and RBS, according to papers filed today in New York State Supreme Court. The German banks say offering materials contained misrepresentations about loans backing the securities, leading to losses.
“Defendants’ wrongdoing has led directly to plaintiffs’ damages, which include both realized losses and loss of market value on the securities,” DZ Bank and another entity, DG Holding Trust, said in the Citigroup filing.
The cases add to claims against Wall Street banks over mortgage loans bundled into securities and sold during the U.S. housing boom. DZ Bank and HSH Nordbank have previously sued other lenders, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM)
The DZ Bank case against Citigroup involves $362 million in securities, while its RBS claims stem from $279 million in securities, according to court papers. The HSH Nordbank case against UBS is over $150 million in bonds, and its RBS suit involves $54 million.
Law Firm
All the cases were filed by the same New York-based law firm, Labaton Sucharow LLP.
Scott Helfman, a spokesman for New York-based Citigroup, and Megan Stinson, a spokeswoman for Zurich-based UBS, declined to comment on the filings. A spokesman for Edinburgh-based RBS couldn’t be reached for comment.
The cases are Deutsche Zentral-Genossenschaftsbank AG v. Citigroup Inc., 654566-2012; Deutsche Zentral- Genossenschaftsbank AG v. Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS), 654569-2012; HSH Nordbank AG v. UBS AG (UBSN), 654574-2012; and HSH Nordbank v. RBS Holdings USA Inc., 654575-2012, New York State Supreme Court (Manhattan).
To contact the reporter on this story: David McLaughlin in New York at dmclaughlin9@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Pickering at jpickering@bloomberg.net
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