Bank of America, Credit Agricole SA, Credit Suisse Group AG, Deutsche Bank AG, and Namura Holdings Inc. are being sued for colluding in a bond market worth $9 trillion.
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."
The proposed class-action lawsuit seeks triple damages, and follows probes by U.S. and European Union antitrust regulators into possible SSA bond price rigging.
This is one of many lawsuits filed against banks in an attempt to hold them liable for all of the damage they created. All of the lawsuits and many of the settlements concern collusion in rigging various markets. By “various” I mean every single market, from commodities to derivatives to interest rates and currency markets.
Meanwhile, in totally unrelated news, a community member has been working on a book about how no one has gone to jail over the financial crisis.