Barclays has agreed to pay nearly $20 million to draw a line under a class action lawsuit accusing it of rigging the Libor benchmark interest rate, Reuters and other media reported, citing a court filing yesterday.

Barclays has agreed to pay nearly $20 million to draw a line under a class action lawsuit accusing it of rigging the Libor benchmark interest rate, Reuters and other media reported, citing a court filing yesterday.

The proposed settlement, revealed in court papers filed in federal court in New York, is the first such settlement of private litigation in the US against various banks accused of interfering with the benchmark, reports said.

In 2012, Barclays agreed to pay $453 million to settle UK and US probes related to Libor rigging; the affair rocked the London financial community and led to the resignation of Barclays’ high-profile chief executive, Robert Diamond.

Reports said that as part of the $19.98 million settlement, on behalf of futures contract traders, Barclays has agreed to cooperate with the plaintiffs, who hope documents and information the bank provides will aid in resolving claims against other firms.

“Barclays is pleased to have reached an agreement to settle in this matter – it is a step forward in resolving another legacy issue," a spokesperson told this publication in an emailed statement.