NINE banks including Barclays, HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland agreed a settlement of more than £1.3 billion with US investors yesterday over foreign exchange rate-rigging claims.

Bank of America, BNP Paribas, Citi, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and UBS were also part of the settlement, according to law firm Hausfeld — which said the deal was “just the beginning.”

The settlement is the latest payout global lenders have been forced to make after being slapped with billions of

pounds in fines by regulators over the forex scandal.

However Hausfeld added that there would also need to be “concerted action” in London to pursue compensation for investors outside the US.

It alleges that the world’s largest banks conspired to fix prices in the foreign exchange market from 2003.

Those banks involved in the latest settlement have also agreed to co-operate with investors in their ongoing litigation against 12 other firms, Hausfeld said.

The settlement is subject to approval by a judge.

Anthony Maton, managing partner at Hausfeld in London, said: “The extent of collusive conduct in the FX market is now clear.

“US investors will see compensation from these settlements. Others will not.

“There is no doubt that anyone who traded FX in or through the London or Asian markets — which transact trillions of dollars of business every day — will have suffered a significant loss as a result of the actions of the banks.

“Compensation for these losses will require concerted action in London.”

Barclays, HSBC and RBS all declined to comment.