STEVENSON, Md., July 24, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Brower Piven, A Professional Corporation announces that a class action lawsuit has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of purchasers of Barclays PLC ("Barclays" or the "Company") (NYSE:BCS) American Depository Receipts (ADRs) on an American securities exchange during the period between July 10, 2007 and June 27, 2012, inclusive (the "Class Period").
If you have suffered a net loss for all transactions in Barclays PLC ADRs during the Class Period, you may obtain additional information about this lawsuit and your ability to become a lead plaintiff by contacting Brower Piven at www.browerpiven.com, by email at hoffman@browerpiven.com, by calling 410/415-6616, or at Brower Piven, A Professional Corporation, 1925 Old Valley Road, Stevenson, Maryland 21153. Attorneys at Brower Piven have combined experience litigating securities and class action cases of over 60 years.
No class has yet been certified in the above action. Members of the Class will be represented by the lead plaintiff and counsel chosen by the lead plaintiff. If you wish to choose counsel to represent you and the Class, you must apply to be appointed lead plaintiff no later than September 10, 2012 and be selected by the Court. The lead plaintiff will direct the litigation and participate in important decisions including whether to accept a settlement and how much of a settlement to accept for the Class in the action. The lead plaintiff will be selected from among applicants claiming the largest loss from investment in the Company during the Class Period. You are not required to have sold your shares to seek damages or to serve as a Lead Plaintiff.
The Complaint indicates that London Inter-Bank Offered Rate ("Libor") is a tool to measure risk within the banking system as a whole and it may be more surgically applied to test a particular bank's creditworthiness; that when a bank lends to a customer (in this case another bank), it fixes the interest rate and other terms premised on an assessment of the borrower's ability to repay the loan; and that the greater the risk, the higher the rate the bank will charge to assume the risk. The complaint accuses the defendants of violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by virtue of the Company's failure to disclose during the Class Period that Defendants did not act fairly, transparently, and try in good faith to fix Libor rates at levels that accurately reflected the inherent and actual risk in the market place and that Barclays was flouting the law through an illegal scheme to manipulate the Libor interest rates for the benefit of Barclays' traders and to make Barclays appear financially healthier than it was. According to the complaint, after, on June 27, 2012, the Company announced that Barclays was found by U.S. and UK regulators to have manipulated or "fixed" its Libor rate submissions and Barclays' top management essentially admitted to the Bank's malfeasance, the value of Barclays' shares declined significantly.
If you choose to retain counsel, you may retain Brower Piven without financial obligation or cost to you, or you may retain other counsel of your choice. You need take no action at this time to be a member of the class.
CONTACT: Charles J. Piven
Brower Piven, A Professional Corporation
Stevenson, Maryland
410/415-6616
hoffman@browerpiven.com
