There is a lot riding on the wording of the settlement agreements for ANZ and NAB.If the two Melbourne-based banks admit to some of ASIC's charges it might open the way for litigation lawyers to unleash a flurry of class actions on behalf of traders, investors and borrowers who were exposed to movements in BBSW during the two year period that the alleged rigging occurred.ANZ especially wants to settle the case because a drawn out court battle over 50 or so alleged breaches of the Corporations Act could be embarrassing for group CEO, Shayne Elliot.That's because Elliott was head of ANZ's institutional banking operations when BBSW traders were alleged to have behaved "unconscionably" in 2010.While settling out of court might be imperative for Elliott, he would also be keen to limit any public admissions of wrongdoing by the bank.ANZ probably has more to lose if it admits liability because it is also defending several other price fixing cases in US and South African courts.Admissions of a flawed trading room culture could compromise the bank's legal defence against a civil action brought against it and 15 other banks in the US District Court by North American hedge funds.The plaintiffs, led by Frontpoint and Sonterra Capital Master Fund, allege they suffered losses as a result of coordinated manipulations of the Australian BBSW rate and the Singapore Interbank Offered Rate (SIBOR).While the case was launched early last year, court hearings are still focused on competing arguments from the plaintiffs and the bank defendants over jurisdictional matters.ANZ earlier this year was also named as a defendant in a currency rigging case mounted by the South African Competition Commission.The South African watchdog alleged in February that ANZ, Macquarie Group and 13 other international banks engaged in a coordinated program to fix foreign currency pairs involving the Rand since 2015.The regulator claims that ANZ and the other banks had a "general agreement" to collude on prices for bids, offers and spreads for trading involving the US Dollar/Rand pair.The commission also alleges banks created "fictitious bids and offers".ANZ stated in its half year accounts that the potential civil penalty or other financial impact from the case was uncertain.