In 2018, the European Commission initiated proceedings against Deutsche Bank, Bank of America, Crédit Agricole and Credit Suisse (CS, now UBS) for violating competition rules. From 2010 to 2015, traders at the institutions had colluded on the secondary market for supranational bonds, government bonds and bonds issued by public authorities in US dollars (SSA bonds). Trading strategies were agreed, sensitive price information was exchanged and prices were coordinated.

In the cartel proceedings, the EU Commission then imposed a fine of €11.9 million on Credit Suisse in 2021.  Bank of America was fined €12.6 million, and Crédit Agricole (CA) €3.9 million. Deutsche Bank, however, went unpunished, as its cooperation in reporting the collusion led to a waiver of the fine.

Action Dismissed in its Entirety

The Court of Justice of the European Union (EuGH) in Luxemburg has now dismissed the complaints by CS and CA against the fines. «The Court dismisses the action brought by Credit Suisse in its entirety,» according to a statement issued by the Court on Wednesday. In the CA case, a correction of the period of the infringements was recognised, but this had no influence on the amount of the fine imposed.

The news agency «AWP» first reported on the judgement.