UPDATE 1-Deutsche Bank to settle U.S. silver price-fixing litigation

(Adds ScotiaBank comment, adds UBS as defendant)
April 13 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank AG DBKGn.DE has agreed
to settle U.S. litigation over allegations it illegally
conspired with Bank of Nova Scotia HSBA.L and HSBC Holdings
Plc HSBA.L to fix silver prices at the expense of investors, a
court filing on Wednesday showed.
Terms were not disclosed, but the accord will include a
monetary payment by the German bank, a letter filed in Manhattan
federal court by lawyers for the investors said.
Deutsche Bank has signed a binding settlement term sheet,
and is negotiating a formal settlement agreement to be submitted
for approval by U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni, who
oversees the litigation.
A Deutsche Bank spokeswoman declined to comment. Lawyers for
the investors did not immediately respond to requests for
comment.
Investors accused Deutsche Bank, HSBC and ScotiaBank of
abusing their power as three of the world's largest silver
bullion banks to dictate the price of silver through a secret,
once-a-day meeting known as the Silver Fix.
According to the lawsuit, the defendants distorted prices on
the roughly $30 billion of silver and silver financial
instruments traded annually, violating U.S. antitrust law.
UBS AG UBSG.S was also named as a defendant. Investors
accused the Swiss bank of conspiring to exploit the Silver Fix,
though it did not help set the benchmark.
Spokesmen for HSBC and ScotiaBank declined to comment,
saying they could not discuss pending litigation. A spokeswoman
for UBS did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The lawsuit is among several in Manhattan federal court in
which investors accused banks of conspiring to rig rates or
prices in financial and commodities markets.
The case is In re: London Silver Fixing Ltd Antitrust
Litigation, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York,
No. 14-md-02573.