Silver investors may pursue a lawsuit accusing 2 major banks - ScotiaBank and HSBC - of conspiring to fix prices and exploit market distortions, affecting $30 billion traded each year in the precious metal and related instruments.  That was made possible by federal Judge Valerie Caproni, who rejected the banks' efforts to dismiss the lawsuit.  Judge Caproni, however, dismissed UBS as a defendant, saying there was nothing to show it manipulated prices.  Caproni also ruled in a separate decision that another group of investors may pursue gold-rigging claims against ScotiaBank, HSBC, Barclays and Societe Generale.

In the silver case, investors accused Deutsche Bank, ScotiaBank and HSBC of rigging prices through a secret daily meeting called the Silver Fix. It's alleged the conspiracy started by 1999, and enabled the banks, including UBS through its alleged ability to exploit the distortions, to pocket returns that could top 100% annualized.