A consortium of international investment banks, including Deutsche Bank and HSBC, has been fined £350 million by financial watchdogs for colluding in the secondary market for government bonds. Regulators discovered that rival traders used private instant-messaging groups to exchange sensitive pricing strategies and confidential bidding details ahead of sovereign bond auctions. This coordinated activity allowed the banks to artificially manipulate bid prices, distorting market yields and undermining fair competition.
With reference to the extract above, explain what is meant by 'market rigging'.
