U.S. Treasury auction-rigging lawsuits assigned to New York judge

By Sarah N. Lynch

WASHINGTON, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Twenty-five civil securitiesand antitrust class action cases alleging that big banks arerigging U.S. Treasury auctions will be heard by a federal judgein New York's Southern District, according to a court filing onTuesday.

The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, whichis responsible for consolidating related lawsuits, said U.S.District Judge Paul G. Gardephe will preside over the case.

The pending class action against banks and brokerages thatact as primary dealers, such as Goldman Sachs, Barclays and Deutsche Bank comes as the U.S.government is conducting a separate early-stage probe into thesame activity, according to several people familiar with thematter.

The U.S. Justice Department and the Commodity FuturesTrading Commission both sent banks requests for documents in thelate summer, one of those people told Reuters.

The New York Department of Financial Services has sentsimilar inquiries concerning the Treasury auction process to thebanks it oversees, two other people told Reuters.

A precise list of the banks who received inquiries from theDOJ and CFTC could not be immediately determined.

A total of 22 banks serve as primary dealers in thegovernment debt marketplace.

Spokesmen for the DOJ and CFTC have not commented on theprobes because they are not considered public.

None of the banks who have received inquiries have beenaccused by the government of wrongdoing in Treasury auctions.

The class action lawsuits allege that the banks havecolluded to manipulate Treasury Department auctions and thepricing of Treasury securities as well as derivative productssuch as futures, whose value is pegged to the Treasury.

In particular, the class action lawsuits allege manipulationin the so-called "when-issued market" - or the period betweenwhen the auction date is announced and the auctioned securitiesare delivered.

Some banks have paid billions in criminal and civilpenalties in connection with collusion to manipulate the Liborinterest rate benchmark and foreign exchange rates.

The multidistrict judicial panel said it is "confident" thatJudge Gardephe will "steer this litigation on a prudent course." (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch in Washington; additionalreporting by Suzanne Barlyn in New York; Editing by DavidGregorio)