Merrill to buy back $12B in securities
The investment bank says beginning in January, it will offer to repurchase auction-rate securities it sold to its clients.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Merrill Lynch says it will buy back auction-rate securities from its clients over a one-year period beginning January 15, 2009.
The New York investment bank's retail clients own an estimated $12 billion in the securities. Merrill expects that total to be reduced to less than $10 billion by January 2009.
Auction-rate securities are bonds whose interest rates are set at periodic auctions, on the basis of bids submitted. The market collapsed in February amid turmoil in the credit markets.
Regulators have been investigating some banks' involvement in the sale of the securities.
Merrill Lynch (MER, Fortune 500) says it has made strides in working with issuers during the past five months and more than 40% of its clients' auction-rate holdings have been liquidated.
CNN
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