Fidelity Agrees to Repurchase $300M in Auction-rate Securities

Fidelity Investments has agreed to join other brokerage firms in the buy back of millions of dollar in auction-rate securities after the crash of the market last February. As investigations have uncovered numerous cases of broker misconduct, the brokerages have been working with government agencies to repurchases the failed investments of thousands of investors.

Fidelity will buy back around $300 million in auction-rate securities, despite denying that they had much to do with the sale of these investments. Fidelity states that their actions are prompted by their long term commitment to their customers.

For more information about auction-rate securities, contact the auction-rate securities fraud lawyers of Williams Kherkher by calling 800-220-9341.

Forty Brokerages Now Involved in Auction Rate Securities Investigation

As promised, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has turned his attention on 40 brokerages that sold auction-rate securities to investors but did not underwrite the debt. Until now, these investigations have focused on the big investment banks. The investigation of smaller brokerages begins this Monday as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) gears up to complete on-site examinations at the brokerages.

FINRA will be trying to determine whether or not each brokerage was aware of the problems in the market and whether or not they attempted to warn investors of the potential risks.

These investigations have led to settlements with eight large firms. These firms have agreed to repurchase around $50 billion of the $60 billion in auction-rate securities debt.

In an interview on CNBC, Cuomo stated, “We’re starting with the largest banks, in terms of number of people involved…and we’re working our way down the list. We’re now focusing on some of the mid-size players in the market.”

For more information on auction-rate securities fraud or to schedule a consultation with a lawyer, contact the auction-rate securities lawyers of Williams Kherkher by calling 800-220-9341.

Auction-rate Securities Buy Backs Don’t Help Everyone

Despite the agreement of large investment banks to repurchase billions in failed auction-rate securities, these buy backs have done little to help certain investors.  Thanks to pressure applied by state and federal securities regulators, many investment banks have announced that they will buy back the auction-rate securities that they falsely represented as safe investments.

The list of investment banks that have agreed to repurchase failed auction-rate securities includes: Wachovia Corp., JP Moran Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley, and Citigroup, among others.

While these agreements will help thousands of investors, the buy back does not apply to $160 billion bought through mutual fund firms or brokers that didn’t underwrite the debt.

If you are feeling the financial hardships of failed auction-rate securities, contact the auction-rate securities lawyers of Williams Kherkher today 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.

UBS Settles Massachusetts Suit

On Wednesday, Swiss bank UBS agreed to settle with Massachusetts attorney general Martha Coakley in a case filed against the bank for allegedly fraudulent business practices. UBS has agreed to pay $1 million to the state government for the expenses of the lawsuit and the losses suffered by local governments. They will also buy back $3.4 million worth of ARS sold to 17 towns and cities around the state. The bank has not formally admitted any wrongdoing.

If you have lost money to a dishonest broker or bank, contact auction rate securities lawyers Williams Kherkher at 800.220.9341.