Key facts
- Six banks' Mexican affiliates agreed to pay $86.4 million to settle a bond rigging lawsuit.
- Investors accused the banks of conspiring to fix prices and allocations of Mexican government bonds.
- The settlement resolves all remaining claims in the eight-year-old antitrust case.
- Prior settlements by Barclays and JPMorgan Chase bring the total payout to $107.1 million.
- The banks denied wrongdoing as part of the settlement agreement.
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. Investors accused the banks of rigging the market for Mexican government bonds between January 1, 2006, and April 19, 2017.
A preliminary settlement was filed in Manhattan federal court, pending a judge's approval, which would resolve all remaining claims in the eight-year-old case. The total payout, including prior settlements of $20.7 million by Barclays and JPMorgan Chase in 2020, amounts to $107.1 million before legal fees.
Investors, led by several pension funds, presented evidence including chatroom transcripts. They alleged the banks conspired to fix prices and allocations of Mexican government bonds by suppressing prices of bonds they bought and increasing prices of bonds they sold. The banks denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle.
Lawyers for the investors may seek up to one-third of the payout, approximately $28.8 million, in fees. This case is part of a broader trend of litigation in Manhattan targeting major banks for alleged collusion in rigging various financial markets.