UBS Accused Of Misleading US Investors Over Securities Sales - Report

Tom Burroughes

8 June 2009

Securities regulators in New Hampshire, US, are accusing UBS of misleading investors about complex securities issued by Lehman Brothers before it declared bankruptcy last year, according to a report by the Associated Press.

The Bureau of Securities Regulation was reported as saying that UBS Financial Services sold the securities as safe and didn’t warn investors during Lehman’s slide toward insolvency. UBS is expected to deny the allegations and request a hearing about them, the news agency said. The report did not elaborate on the securities or say how they worked.

The bureau says 42 New Hampshire investors could lose the more than $2.5 million they invested in “structured products,” securities which were linked to investments such as foreign currencies. State law allows for penalties including restitution and fines.

The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers last year cast a pall over the structured products sector, because firms such as Lehman acted as manufacturers or stood behind the capital guarantees of these vehicles.

Numerous claims have been filed against Lehman, a venerable investment bank before it failed.