International Working Group on Financial Derivatives Litigation in Nijmegen

On 23 & 24 January 2025 a distinguished group of experts from academia and legal practice gathered at the Law Faculty of Radboud University in Nijmegen to discuss the topic of Financial Derivatives Litigation. The expert group is led by professor Danny Busch (Radboud University), professor Gerard McMeel (University of Reading, UK) and professor Matthias Lehmann (University of Vienna, Austria). One type of financial derivatives in particular - swap agreements - sparked a veritable flood of litigation in many European countries and in some countries outside of Europe. These were different from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. For instance, swap agreements with municipal entities had long been prohibited in the UK, which did not stop British banks from selling them to municipalities and their companies on the continent. In France, the ‘misselling’ of swaps was almost exclusively remedied through criminal proceedings, on which private investors piggybacked. In Germany, however, private litigation was paramount, and no criminal proceedings were started. In many countries, significant settlements were entered, and administrative sanctions were issued, but again with considerable differences. The unwinding of derivative agreements that had been annulled also led to much litigation.