Comerica To Repurchase $1.46 Billion in Auction Rate Securities

Comerica Bank’s parenty company, Comerica Inc., has recently agreed to repurchase $1.46 billion in auction rate securities. Comerica worked with the Michigan attorney general and the Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation to settle on the agreement amount some time last week.

Several calls and complaints filed by Michigan residents began the investigation. These residents claimed to have been encouraged to invest in auction rate securities and told that they were similar to CDs that could be easily exchanged for cash. When the market crashed last February, these investors were left with nothing, having never been informed of the risk involved in auction rate securities.

Comerica will also be responsible for paying the State of Michigan a civil penalty in the amount of $10,000, as well as $100,000 to the Michigan Investor Protection Trust Fund.

If you were mislead to believe that auction rate securities were a safe investment, contact the auction rate securities fraud lawyers of Williams Kherkher by calling 800.220.9341 today.

FINRA Launches Pilot Program to Evaluate Arbitration Panels

Merrill Lynch, Citigroup Global Markets, Wachovia Securities, Charles Schwab, Morgan Stanley, and UBS have agreed to participate in the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s new pilot program to evaluate the arbitration process.

This two-year pilot program will allow some investors to choose whether they would like an arbitration made up of three public arbitrators or the traditional panel of one non-public arbitrator and two public arbitrators.

According to FINRA representatives,  only the investor making the arbitration claim can decide to participate in the pilot program. The firms will not have the option to decide which cases will be included as part of the pilot program. Investors who would like to participate in the pilot program will be able to as of October 6, 2008.

For more information on the arbitration process and your legal rights, contact the auction-rate securities lawyers of Williams Kherkher by calling 800-220-9341.

Commerce Buys Back $545 Million Auction-rate Securities

Commerce Bancshares Inc. recently announced that it will offer to buy back around $545 million in auction-rate securities from close to 140 investors. Commerce noted that they have agreed to repurchase the auction-rate securities because of the failure of the market that caused ARS to become illiquid.

Commerce joins several other banking institutions that have recently agreed to repurchase ARS investments. Wachovia Corporation released a statement on the same day that stated that they would pay a $50 million fine and $9 billion in ARS back to investors.

As investigations continue, it is likely that more and more large banking institutions will come forward and agree to repurchase failed auction-rate securities.

If you have faced financial hardships due to the failure of your auction-rate securities investment, contact the auction-rate securities fraud lawyer from Williams Kherkher today. Call 800-220-9341 for more information.

Auction Rate Securities Investigations: Bank of America Subpoenaed

Bank of America Corporation has recently received subpoenas from state and federal government agencies, as well as requests for information on auction-rate securities. In February 2008, the auctions that were meant to set the rates of these securities began to fail, causing investors to panic and the government agencies to become suspicious of brokers’ role in the matter.

Bank of America also faces various class-action lawsuits that accuse the bank of misrepresenting auction-rate securities to investors.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has requested documents and information dating from 1992 to 2008. Bank of America also faces the investigation of its new subsidiary, Countrywide Financial Corp.

If you have suffered financial losses due to dishonest brokers or banks, contact the auction rate securities lawyers of Williams Kherkher at 800.220.9341.

Morgan Stanley To Repurchase ARS

Morgan Stanley, along with USB and Citigroup, has announced that they will be repurchasing auction-rate securities that were purchased before February 13th, 2008. Last week, USB and Citigroup agreed to return over $20 billion to investors.

After the $330 billion collapse that the market faced in February, the New York Attorney General has been looking into the cause of such a financially catastrophic event.

Although Morgan Stanley is attempting to make amends with  angry investors, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is not impressed. “This is too little, too late, and our investigation into Morgan Stanley continues,” noted Alex Detrick. Cuomo’s spokesman.

For more information, contact an auction rate securities attorney today at 800-220-9341.