Libor Rate Conspiracy Claimed in Home-Loan Borrowers’ Lawsuit

JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp. and 10 other lenders were sued by a group of U.S. homeowners who claim the banks conspired to manipulate the benchmark Libor rate, driving up the cost of mortgage loans.

Libor, or the London interbank offered rate, is based on a British Bankers’ Association-commissioned daily survey that asks lenders to estimate how much it would cost to borrow money from each other for various periods in 10 different currencies. The figures are used to set interest rates for more than $300 trillion of securities and loans worldwide.