A U.S. judge dismissed an antitrust lawsuit accusing 10 large banks of rigging corporate bond prices. Investors accused the banks of overcharging them by billions of dollars since 2006 on “odd-lot” trades. The judge ruled that the investors failed to prove the banks conspired to manipulate prices, leading to the dismissal of the case.

Despite the banks’ control of a significant portion of the corporate bond market, the judge found no evidence of conspiratorial pricing practices. The lawsuit alleged that the banks operated certain platforms to thwart fair prices, but the judge stated there were no overt acts to support this claim. The case was dismissed with prejudice, preventing it from being brought again.

The case was initially dismissed in 2021, then revived in 2024 due to a conflict involving the judge’s wife owning Bank of America stock. The federal appeals court questioned the judge’s impartiality, leading to the case being revisited. However, the judge was not accused of any wrongdoing in this matter.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: Ten big banks defeat antitrust lawsuit in US over bond trades