Mexico: Antitrust debt probe to cast a wide net

Last week a senior antitrust official told Reuters that the Federal Economic Competition Commission (Cofece) had started its biggest ever probe into public debt sales in late October amid signs of potential wrongdoing.

The new probe is into Mexico’s nearly $5.3 billion public debt market and could scrutinize possible breaches of competition laws by intermediaries in trades dating back up to 10 years.

Any debt instrument issued by the federal government, states or municipalities, the state IPAB bank protection agency, development banks or state companies could come under review, Carlos Mena, head of the investigative unit of the Cofece, told Reuters on Thursday.

“Any financial institution that participates as a bidder could be involved in the inquiry,” Mena said by phone.

“What we’re trying to determine is if credit institutions, brokerages or investment companies stopped competing or eased competition by exchanging information or manipulating prices or market demand,” he added.

Full Content: Reuters

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