(Bloomberg) ? Former Global Crossing Ltd. officials should compensate Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. for payments the banks may make to Global Crossing?s shareholders as part of a securities lawsuit, the banks said in a separate complaint yesterday.

The shareholders are suing seven investment banks, including the three banks that filed the new suit in New York federal court today, claiming they underwrote an April 2000 stock sale and issued favourable opinions about the company?s finances while the company filed misleading disclosures with securities regulators.

The banks said ex-chairman Gary Winnick and other former Global Crossing officials should have known the filings were inaccurate.

Yesterday?s suit seeks to lessen any financial blow the banks may suffer as a result of the pending shareholder suit. In addition to contribution to any shareholder damage award, the banks also seek unspecified damages and legal costs.

Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Merrill Lynch ?reasonably relied on the information and representations prepared and furnished by them, and on Global Crossing?s financial statements,? Howard Goldstein, a lawyer for the banks, said in court papers.

Global Crossing, which owns a worldwide fibre-optic cable network, emerged from bankruptcy in December after erasing $12 billion in debt and $40 billion in stock value.

Shareholders are suing the banks under a federal law that holds banks underwriting stock or bond sales responsible for an issuer?s wrongdoing if they could have reasonably known that the company?s financial information at the time of the stock issue was inaccurate.

US District Judge Gerard E. Lynch in New York, who is presiding over the shareholder suit, refused last month to throw out most of the plaintiffs claims against the investment banks.

D. Ward Kallstrom, a lawyer for Winnick, didn?t return a call seeking comment. Tisha Kresler, a spokeswoman for Global Crossing, declined to comment. Merrill Lynch spokesman Mark Herr said of the suit filed yesterday that ?our papers speak for themselves? and declined further comment.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc. spokeswoman Christina Pretto and Goldman Sachs spokeswoman Andrea Rachman declined to comment.