Scott+Scott Files Lawsuit Against Major Banks Over Prime Rate Price-Fixing

HARTFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP today filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of two California and Colorado residents against some of the nation’s leading banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citibank, U.S. Bank, PNC, and Truist.

The lawsuit of nationwide significance was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut and alleges that the largest U.S. banks conspired to fix, raise, and stabilize the rate charged to their most creditworthy customers for short-term loans, commonly referred to as “prime rates.” These prime rates, which control the interest rates on millions of consumer and small-business loans, are collected and regularly published by The Wall Street Journal as the Wall Street Journal Prime Rate (“WSJ Prime Rate”). The WSJ Prime Rate, in turn, governs the interest rates most Americans pay on their credit cards and home equity loans.

The litigation alleges that by coordinating their interest rates for prime customers, defendant banks not only charged their prime loan customers supracompetitive rates, but also artificially inflated interest rates for millions of loans explicitly tied to the WSJ Prime Rate, reaping billions in profits.

“For years up to this day, the nation’s largest banks appear to have fixed their prime rates. This alleged conspiracy impacts millions of hard-working consumers pursuing the American Dream to own a home or need a small-business loan. Financial compensation for these consumers is more than overdue,” said Scott+Scott Partner Patrick McGahan.

“Rate fixing, benchmark manipulation, and inflating fees sadly have been a systemic issue with major U.S. banks. The settlements and judgements in previous similar cases total billions of dollars. With this litigation, we continue our firm’s work to hold these financial institutions accountable and secure financial compensation for American consumers,” Managing Partner David R. Scott added.

The antitrust class action lawsuit alleges conspiracy and rate fixing related to a variety of financial products, including HELOC (Home Equity Lines of Credit) and Consumer Credit Cards.

The case is: Normandin et al. v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A et al. No. 3:25-cv-01749, (D. CT)

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