E*Trade Gets Wells Notice For Auction-Rate Securities

NEW YORK - In an article from FoxBusiness.com, Brett Philbin writes that  E*Trade Financial Corp. (ETFC)  received a Wells notice from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority related to the purchase of auction-rate securities by customers of one of its subsidiaries, according to a regulatory filing.  A Wells notice indicates that regulators are recommending enforcement action and gives the company a chance to respond.

Auction-rate securities are long-term debt instruments with attributes of short-term securities because they were resold with new interest rates in periodic auctions. Investors eventually found themselves stuck with the securities after the market froze.

The article states that in its annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the New York online brokerage said its E*Trade Securities, LLC, unit received the notice Feb. 9. E*Trade is the latest online brokerage to face pressure from regulators to make investors whole following the breakdown of the ARS market in 2008.

Philbin writes that last spring, rival TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (AMTD) agreed to repurchase $305 million in auction-rate securities from clients, while Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW) received a Wells notice of its own from the SEC as well as a civil complaint from the New York Attorney General in 2009. Schwab filed a motion to dismiss the AG's case and told Finra it believes the enforcement charges are unwarranted.

 The FoxBusiness article said that in the filing, E*Trade said it is "cooperating with these inquiries and will submit a Wells response to Finra setting forth the bases for E*TRADE Securities' belief that disciplinary action is not warranted." The company said the total amount of auction-rate securities held by its customers was $138.2 million as of Dec. 31, 2010.