Three of the banks appointed to act for the NTMA as primary dealers in Irish government bonds were part of a cartel that swapped commercially sensitive information on bond prices and deals on European government bonds, including during the financial crisis, the European Competition Commission has found. The news comes just weeks after the NTMA sacked Davy as a primary dealer over its role in the Davy 16 bond scandal. NatWest was not fined as it revealed the cartel to the Commission. Bank of America and Natixis are not fined either because their infringement falls outside the limitation period for imposition of fines, the Commission said. Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said: “A well-functioning European Government Bonds market is paramount both for the Eurozone Member States issuing these bonds to generate liquidity and the investors buying and trading them.

Source: Irish Independent May 20, 2021 11:15 UTC