Banks ask US judge to dismiss Libor-linked suits

New York

BANKS including Bank of America Corp, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc, Barclays plc and Citigroup Inc, asked a judge to throw out claims they cheated customers on interest-rate swaps and other Libor-based transactions.

The companies asked US District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald in papers filed in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday and Thursday to dismiss claims in 17 suits growing out of "over-the-counter" transactions, or deals in which investors engaged in Libor-based deals directly with one or more of the banks.