Bank of China US Sheds Class Claims Over Losses on Oil Bets

Bank of China U.S.A. and BOCI Commodities & Futures (USA) LLC won dismissal of a proposed class action over the marketing, sale, and management of Crude Oil Treasure, a derivative investment product linked to US crude oil futures.

The losses stem from the bank settling contracts that underpinned its COT product in April 2020 at minus $37.63 a barrel, leaving Bank of China customers caught in the middle of oil’s unprecedented collapse below zero. The plaintiffs alleged that COT customers lost $1.6 billion.

The complaint alleged that BOC Group fraudulently misrepresented COT to prospective customers, mismanaged COT, and misappropriated customer ...