NEW YORK — New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said Monday he is expanding his probe into the collapse of the auction-rate securities market to include JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley and Wachovia Corp.
Cuomo’s office and the federal Securities and Exchange Commission reached settlements last week forcing Swiss bank UBS to repurchase $18.6 billion in the securities, and Citigroup agreed to buy back $7 billion of the securities.
Banks are accused of knowingly misrepresenting the safety of the securities when selling them to investors.
“This is an industrywide problem,” Cuomo said in an interview. “This is not about one or two institutions.”
Morgan Stanley spokesman Mark Lake said the New York-based investment bank has “been and continues to cooperate fully with the regulators.”
A Wachovia official said the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank is talking with regulators.
