Mexican affiliates of Bank of America, Banco Santander, BBVA, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and HSBC have agreed to pay a combined $86.4 million to settle investor claims that they conspired in the market for Mexican government bonds.
The preliminary agreement was filed in federal court in Manhattan and still requires a judge's approval. It would resolve the remaining claims in an antitrust case that has run for eight years, but it is not a judicial finding that the alleged conduct occurred.
Investors led by several pension funds alleged that banks coordinated bond prices and allocations from January 1, 2006, through April 19, 2017. The complaint said the purported arrangement depressed the prices paid when banks bought bonds and increased the prices charged when they sold them.
The plaintiffs cited material including chatroom transcripts to support their claims. Those assertions remain allegations: the six banking groups denied wrongdoing when agreeing to settle, and the payment does not constitute an admission of liability.
Together with earlier agreements, the proposed payment would lift recoveries before legal expenses to $107.1 million. Barclays and JPMorgan had agreed in 2020 to settlements totaling $20.7 million, leaving the other defendants to continue litigating until the latest accord.
Lawyers for the investor class may ask the court for fees of as much as one-third of the new settlement, or $28.8 million. Any award would be decided through the court process and would reduce the amount available after fees rather than increase the banks' stated $86.4 million payment.
The litigation forms part of a broader series of cases brought in Manhattan over alleged manipulation of financial benchmarks and markets, including interest rates, US Treasuries, currencies and commodities. Each case turns on its own evidence and settlement terms.
Judicial approval is now the key next step. Until the court reviews fairness and related procedural requirements, the $86.4 million remains a proposed resolution of civil claims, with denials of wrongdoing intact and no adjudicated conclusion on the underlying allegations.
