Banks Agree to $86.4 Million Settlement in Mexican Bond-Rigging Lawsuit

Mexican banking affiliates of Bank of America, Banco Santander, BBVA, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and HSBC have agreed to pay $86.4 million to settle a long-running antitrust lawsuit accusing them of manipulating the market for Mexican government bonds. A preliminary settlement filed in Manhattan federal court late Friday would resolve the remaining claims in the eight-year-old case, subject to judicial approval.

The settlement brings the total amount paid by the banks in the litigation to $107.1 million before legal fees, including $20.7 million previously paid by Barclays and JPMorgan Chase in 2020. Investors, led by several pension funds, alleged that the banks conspired between January 2006 and April 2017 to manipulate prices and allocations of Mexican government bonds. Evidence cited in the case included transcripts from bank chatrooms, with investors alleging that traders suppressed prices on bonds they purchased and raised prices on those they sold.

The banks denied wrongdoing as part of the settlement agreement. Lawyers representing the investors could seek up to one-third of the settlement, or about $28.8 million, in legal fees. The case forms part of a broader wave of litigation in Manhattan spanning more than a decade, involving allegations that major banks colluded to manipulate interest rates, U.S. Treasuries, other bonds, currencies and commodities.

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