BofA pays $4.7M, ending Massachusetts ARS investigation

Bank of America Corp. has paid a $4.7 million fine to Massachusetts following an investigation of the bank's marketing and sales of auction-rate securities.
APR 09, 2009
Bank of America Corp. has paid a $4.7 million fine to Massachusetts following an investigation of the bank's marketing and sales of auction-rate securities. The Charlotte, N.C.-based bank last year agreed to buy back about $4.5 billion worth of auction-rate securities held by roughly 5,500 customers nationwide as part of a settlement agreement with state regulators. Under that agreement, Bank of America said it would buy back securities at the value at which customers had purchased them. Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin said yesterday that the fine paid by the bank signals the end of the investigation. The money will go into the state government's general fund.

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