SEC on the hunt for rumormongers
The regulator has subpoenaed firms suspected of spreading rumors about Bear Stearns, contributing to its collapse.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has issued subpoenas in recent weeks to some Wall Street giants and hedge fund managers, searching for information on the suspected rumors that some say led to the fall of The Bear Stearns Cos. Inc., according to published reports.
The investment banks subpoenaed include Frankfurt, Germany-based Deutsche Bank AG, and The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc., both of New York, Bloomberg reported today, citing two people familiar with the matter.
An SEC spokesman declined to comment.
A week ago, New York-based JPMorgan Chase & Co. chief executive James Dimon called on the SEC to investigate whether false rumors spread by short sellers betting on Bear Stearns’ shares helped sink the New York firm (InvestmentNews July 8).
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