Sept 30 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Monday dismissed a
proposed class action lawsuit against several large banks for
allegedly rigging the market for Mexican government bonds,
according to a court filing.
JPMorgan Chase & Co, HSBC Holdings Plc,
Citigroup Inc and Bank of America Corp are among
10 financial companies that had been accused in the lawsuit of
benefiting from manipulating the market for Mexican government
bonds.
U.S. District Judge Paul Oetken in Manhattan said in his
opinion he was dismissing the lawsuit because the plaintiffs -
eight pension funds - failed to allege a direct link between
each defendant and a conspiracy.
Oetken said he never determined if there was a plausible
existence of an antitrust conspiracy, but said the plaintiffs
could try to amend their complaint.
Todd Seaver, a lawyer for the pension funds, said his team
was evaluating the ruling and had no further comment.
The lawsuit followed an investigation announced by Mexico's
Federal Commission for Economic Competition, or Cofece, in April
2017, into possible breaches of competition laws in the public
debt market.
Cofece described the probe as its largest investigation into
public debt sales and reflected the Mexican government’s
efforts to increase market oversight.
In November, Mexico's securities regulator in a separate
probe fined top banks, traders and brokers for simulating bond
trades to pump up volumes, according to a government document
and source.
Banks have in recent years faced a variety of lawsuits in
Manhattan federal court by investors seeking billions of dollars
over market-rigging allegations.
(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Bill
Berkrot)