Banks reach $86.4 million Mexican bond rigging settlement in Manhattan
XLF•Banks agree to $86.4 million settlement
NEW YORK, Aug. 17 (Reuters) - Mexican banking affiliates of Bank of America BAC.N, Banco Santander SAN.MC, BBVA BBVA.MC, Citigroup C.N, Deutsche Bank DBKGn.DE and HSBC HSBA.L agreed to pay $86.4 million to settle a long-running antitrust lawsuit by investors who accused them of rigging the market for Mexican government bonds.
A preliminary settlement filed late Friday in Manhattan federal court would resolve all remaining claims in the eight-year-old case, pending a judge's approval.
The total payout prior to legal fees would be $107.1 million, including a combined $20.7 million of settlements by Barclays BARC.L and JPMorgan Chase JPM.N in 2020.
Investors alleged bond price manipulation
Citing evidence including chatroom transcripts, investors led by several pension funds accused the banks of conspiring from January 1, 2006 to April 19, 2017 to fix prices and allocations of Mexican government bonds, including by suppressing prices of bonds they buy and increasing prices of bonds they sell.
The banks denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle.
Lawyers for the investors may seek up to one-third of the payout, or , in fees.
