Washington state securities regulators on Wednesday accused Wells Fargo (WFC Quote) of misleading investors in auction-rate securities, a charge the bank said it would "vigorously defend."
The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions said it would suspend Wells Fargo's broker-dealer and investment advisor licenses in the state if the company did not agree to make whole investors holding approximately $3.93 billion in auction-rate securities in February, when the auctions failed and markets became illiquid.
The state's accusations were similar to charges by regulators in New York and Massachusetts earlier this year that led to settlements with banks like Citigroup (C Quote), UBS (UBS Quote), Wachovia (WB Quote), Merrill Lynch (MER Quote), JPMorgan Chase (JPM Quote) and Goldman Sachs (GS Quote). ...
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