Regions Financial Corp.’s (RF) investment banking subsidiary, Morgan Keegan & Co., received a Wells notice related to “certain mutual funds formerly managed” by the brokerage.
Regions said in a regulatory filing that it received the notice on July 9 from the Atlanta office of the Securities and Exchange Commission, “stating that the staff intends to recommend that the commission bring enforcement actions for possible violations of the federal securities laws.”
A spokesman said the company is cooperating with the SEC and will defend itself vigorously.
A Wells notice is a precursor to a civil lawsuit in an SEC investigation.
Morgan Keegan had already received a Wells notice earlier this year, related to allegedly inadequate disclosure of the risks associated with auction-rate securities, an issue that plagued many big banks and asset managers.
Read more about auction rate securities…
