Deals

Investors Suing JPMorgan May Redefine the Leveraged Loan Market

  • Trustee for Millennium Health lenders alleges securities fraud
  • Banks, industry groups hold that loans aren’t securities
Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg
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A group suing JPMorgan Chase & Co. and other Wall Street banks over a loan that went sour four years ago is alleging the underwriters engaged in securities fraud. If successful, the lawsuit could radically transform the $1.2 trillion leveraged lending market.

The defendants say there’s one key problem -- unlike bonds, loans aren’t securities. As a result, they’ve filed a petition asking the court to dismiss the suit on those exact grounds.