European Bond Price-Fixing Class Actions Consolidated in N.Y.

Three lawsuits accusing Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, and NatWest of rigging the $8 trillion secondary market for European government bonds will proceed together in Manhattan federal court.

Judge Victor Marrero of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York consolidated the proposed class actions in an April 26 order.

The suits claim the three global banks and their affiliates conspired to widen the spread between the “bid” price at which they acquired the bonds at auction and the “ask” price at which they sold them to the public.

The lawsuits were filed by union pension ...