The complaints were filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, according to a press release dated July 23 and issued by the Office of the City Attorney.
One suit claims that financial institutions and brokers colluded among other things to rig the bidding process the city uses to get the most competitive rates for its investments.
The second claims that when LA issued municipal bonds to finance public works, it was compelled to purchase insurance from bond insurers that agreed among themselves to maintain a dual credit-rating system that charged the city and other public entities high premiums.
Some financial institutions named in the complaints include: Bank of America, Banc of America Securities, Bear Stearns & Co, UBS AG, JP Morgan Chase & Co, Lehman Brothers Inc., Merrill Lynch & Co,
Morgan Stanley, Piper Jaffray, Wachovia Bank, Citigroup, AIG Financial Products, Financial Security Assurance Holdings, Financial Guaranty Insurance, Rabobank, Salomon Smith-Barney, Ambac Financial, MBIA, XL Capitol Assurance, ACA Financial Guaranty, Financial Guaranty Insurance, and CIFG Assurance North America,