Attorney General's News Release

August 3, 2012

Attorney General Koster says Missouri cities, school districts and not-for-profits now able to claim more than $1,000,000 from municipal bonds derivatives scheme

Jefferson City, Mo. – Attorney General Chris Koster announced today that approximately 17 Missouri municipalities, school districts and not-for-profit entities can now opt-in to a $1 million settlement with Wachovia.

“I am pleased to return this money to Missouri school districts and cities,” Koster said. “My office will continue to force companies that violate the law to fully compensate those entities they cheated.”

This opt-in is the third in a series of settlements for alleged anticompetitive and fraudulent conduct in the municipal bond derivatives industry. Forty-six Missouri entities have already received $3.1 million from a prior settlement with Bank of America, and ten more entities have the option to recover more than $800,000 from JPMorgan Chase.

Koster has also resolved similar claims with UBS and GE Funding Capital Market Services, Inc., and victims should be able to recover from these settlements later this year.

In April 2008, several states, including Missouri, began investigating allegations that some of the nation’s largest large financial institutions engaged in schemes to rig bids and commit other deceptive, unfair, and fraudulent conduct in the municipal bond derivatives market. The settlements with Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wachovia, UBS, and GE Funding Capital Market Services, Inc. resulted from that investigation, which is ongoing.

Those eligible for the settlement are being contacted and are encouraged to visit http://www.stateagmunisettlement.com for more information. Entities who question whether they are eligible should call 573-751-7445.