In big-shot banking litigation these days, the settlement handshake may still happen, even if it’s increasingly no promise of final approval. (See, e.g., the SEC’s woes in getting approval for settlements with Bank of America and Citi, BofA’s struggle to get its $8.5 billion MBS deal done, and Delaware’s rejection today of a nationwide mortgage settlement.) Now you can add another to the list: HSBC Holdings PLC announced yesterday that it has terminated its proposed settlement agreement with investors in the Thema International Fund PLC, an Irish fund that invested with Bernard Madoff and lost $1.2 billion, on paper, when his scheme unraveled. Thema investors came to Manhattan federal court to sue the fund’s directors, auditors and the Irish HSBC entity that acted as the fund’s custodian. Read Reuters report here.
