Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: Individual purchaser latest to claim banks manipulated U.S. Treasury market, (Aug 6, 2015)
Law Firms Mentioned:Criden & Love, P.A. | Nussbaum Law Group, P.C. | Schlesinger Law Offices, P.A.
Organizations Mentioned:BMO Capital Markets Corp. | BNP Paribas Securities Corp. | Bank of Nova Scotia | Bank of Nova Scotia, New York Agency | Barclays Capital Inc. | Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. | CitiGroup Global Markets Inc. | Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. | Commerz Markets LLC | Commerz Markets, LLC | Credit Suisse | Credit Suisse Securities USA LLC | Criden & Love, PA | Daiwa Capital Markets America Inc. | Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. | Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc. | Goldman, Sachs & Co. | HSBC Securities (USA), Inc. | HSBC Securities USA Inc. | J.P. Morgan Securities LLC | J.P. Morgan Securities, LLC | Jefferies LLC | Jefferies, LLC | Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith, Inc. | Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. | Mizuho Securities USA Inc. | Mizuho Securities USA, Inc. | Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC | Morgan Stanley & Co., LLC | Nomura Securities International, Inc. | Nussbaum Law Group, PC | RBC Capital Markets, LLC | RBS | RBS Securities Inc. | SG Americas Securities, LLC | Schlesinger Law Offices, PA | UBS Securities LLC | UBS Securities, LLC
By Greg Hammond, J.D.
An individual purchaser of U.S. Treasuries is the latest to file a class action suit against some of the largest dealer banks in the world for allegedly conspiring to manipulate and restrain competition in the U.S. Treasury Instruments market. The complaint, which was filed in the federal district court in New York City, claims that the banks violated the Sherman and Commodity Exchange Acts (St. John v. Bank of Nova Scotia, New York Agency, August 5, 2015).
Michael St. John alleges that defendant banks—including BMO Capital, Barclays, CitiGroup, Deutsche, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, and J.P. Morgan—abused their position of trust by conspiring to fix and manipulate the when-issued Treasuries market and related auction, at the point of purchase and the point of sale. Specifically, St. John claims that the banks used electronic chatrooms, instant messaging, and other electronic and telephonic methods to exchange confidential and competitively sensitive information to coordinate customer orders and trading strategies in order to: (1) artificially depress the price of Treasuries they acquired through auction; and (2) inflate the price of those Treasuries when the banks sold them in the attendant when-issued market.
Similar claims were filed by IBEW Local 640 Arizona Chapter NECA Pension Trust Fund, State-Boston Retirement System, and other trust funds in July.
The case number is 1:15-cv-6139.
Attorneys: Linda P. Nussbaum (Nussbaum Law Group, P.C.), Michael E. Criden (Criden & Love, P.A.), and Scott P. Schlesinger (Schlesinger Law Offices, P.A.) for Michael St. John.
Companies: Bank of Nova Scotia, New York Agency; BMO Capital Markets Corp.; BNP Paribas Securities Corp.; Barclays Capital Inc.; Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.; CitiGroup Global Markets Inc.; Commerz Markets LLC; Credit Suisse Securities USA LLC; Daiwa Capital Markets America Inc.; Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.; Goldman, Sachs & Co.; HSBC Securities USA Inc.; Jefferies LLC; J.P. Morgan Securities LLC; Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc.; Mizuho Securities USA Inc.; Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC; Nomura Securities International, Inc.; RBC Capital Markets, LLC; RBS Securities Inc.; SG Americas Securities, LLC; UBS Securities LLC
News: Antitrust NewYorkNews