April 28, 2003
Considered the largest overall monetary payment in Wall Street history, after four months of quibbling over the final terms of the Wall Street settlement, a finalized deal has been made. Ten Wall Street banks have been accused of giving biased company research in order to gain investment banking business. The finalized settlement has been long anticipated but took awhile to reach because the firms were trying to avoid increased liabilities due to the billions of additional dollars they are expected to pay in private securities Fraud Claims.
Three banks, including the nation’s largest investment firms, have evidence of fraud, including Citigroup’s Salomon Smith Barney unit, Credit e First Boston, and Merrill Lynch. Citigroup’s Salomon Smith Barney will pay the largest fine at $300 million. Citigroup will also pay $75 million to go towards an independent research fund and $25 million towards an investor education program. For more information on securities fraud class actions, please contact us.