Lawsuit hits 22 banks for manipulating US Treasury auctions

A total of twenty-two financial institutes were just hit by a federal class action lawsuit accusing them of conspiring to manipulate Treasury auctions in a way that damages both clients and investors.

The suit, filed by the State-Boston Retirement System, names as its defendants large name companies like the Merrill Lynch unit of Bank of America, Citigroup, Credit Suisse Group AG, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC Holdings, JPMorgan Chase & Co, UBS Group AG, as well as 14 others. The complaint alleges that all of these companies attempted to illegally profit off of the sale of US Treasury bills and bonds at the expense of investors and account holders.

More specifically, the suit claims that the banks in question used a mixture of chat rooms, instant messenger apps, as well as other means of communication to share the private information of their clients and coordinate general trading strategy that encompassed nearly $12.5 trillion in Treasury funds.

This collaboration made it so that the banks were able to manipulate the price of bonds to be deflated when purchased by the institutions.

A lawyer representing the plaintiffs said of the banks' actions that "The scheme harmed private investors who paid too much for Treasuries, and it harmed municipalities and corporations because the rates they paid on their own debt were also inflated by the manipulation," adding that "even a small manipulation in Treasury rates can result in enormous consequences."

No matter where you are with your company, it's important to contact a skilled business attorney as soon as possible. A lawyer can help protect your rights in case of litigation, and get you just compensation.

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