State task force to probe other Wall St firms-WSJ
NEW YORK, May 23 (Reuters) - State regulators and attorneys generals are gearing up separate inquiries into research analyst conflicts at other major Wall Street firms, on the heels of Merrill Lynch's (NYSE:MER - News) settlement, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
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On Tuesday, Merrill reached a $100 million settlement with New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer after he accused the firm of misleading investors by tailoring research to win investment banking business.
Citing people familiar with the arrangement, the Journal said that most members of the state task force have agreed to oversee individual investigations covering about a dozen major firms.
Spitzer will concentrate on Salomon Smith Barney and Morgan Stanley & Co., Massachusetts will handle the investigation of Credit Suisse First Boston, a unit of Credit Suisse Group (CSGZn.VX), and Connecticut, the UBS PaineWebber unit of UBS AG (UBSZn.VX), the Journal said.
Texas and Alabama are teaming up to scrutinize J.P Morgan Chase & Co. and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., New Jersey, Bear Stearns Cos. (NYSE:BSC - News), California, Deutsche Bank AG's (XETRA:DBKGn.DE - News) Deutsche Bank Securities and Thomas Weisel Partners.
Washington state will look at U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - News) unit Piper Jaffray while Utah will be responsible for the probe targeting Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS - News), a Utah state official told the Journal.
The publication said some lawmakers and Securities and Exchange Commission officials are concerned that action by the states could set a dangerous precedent and lead to a "balkanization" of securities laws as each state weighs in with its own mandates. |
