A US federal court last night dismissed a class action lawsuit against Bank of America in which it was accused of helping Parmalat, the Italian food group, commit securities fraud. The court also threw out most claims against Citigroup over its role in transactions for the Italian firm.

The plaintiffs had claimed that Bank of America was liable for actions related to a Parmalat private placement in 1999 and for various loans backed by funds from private debt placements.