Five Major Banks Rigged Nine Trillion Dollar Bond Market: Lawsuit
By Telesur
Global Research
June 03, 2016
The Bank of America, Credit Agricole SA, Credit Suisse Group AG, Deutsche Bank AG, and Nomura Holdings were named as defendants.
Five major banks and four traders were sued on Wednesday in a private U.S. lawsuit claiming they conspired to rig prices worldwide in a more than US$9 trillion market for bonds issued by government-linked organizations and agencies.
Bank of America Corp , Credit Agricole SA , Credit Suisse Group AG , Deutsche Bank AG and Nomura Holdings Inc were accused of secretly agreeing to widen the “bid-ask” spreads they quoted customers of supranational, sub-sovereign and agency (SSA) bonds.
The lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court by the Boston Retirement System said the collusion dates to at least 2005, was conducted through chatrooms and instant messaging, and caused investors to overpay for bonds they bought or accept low prices for bonds they sold.
“Only through collusion could a dealer quote a wider spread than market conditions otherwise dictate without losing market share and profits,” the complaint said. “Defendants reaped millions of dollar(s) in profits at the expense of plaintiff and members of the class as result of their misconduct.”
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