Rbc Financial Services Inc

Raymond James buying back securities in settlement

The St. Petersburg-based broker also will pay a $1.75 million fine for misleading customers by pitching such securities as safe, cash-like investments.

The settlement was announced Wednesday by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, which said those ARS investors will get all of their money back.

"Raymond James improperly marketed and sold ARS to customers as safe and highly liquid alternatives to money-market accounts and other short-term investments," said Eric I. Bustillo, director of the SEC's Miami office.

OFR Commissioner Tom Cardwell called the 100 percent reimbursement "a huge victory" for the investors. Florida residents will receive about $75 million, he said.

Raymond James, which has offices throughout Southwest Florida, settled the charges without admitting or denying wrongdoing.

"I am pleased we are able to resolve this issue and provide liquidity to clients who continue to hold ARS in their portfolios," chief executive Paul Reilly said in a statement.

The firm has reduced clients' ARS holdings from $2.1 billion in 2008 to $260 million.

Raymond James becomes the latest broker to resolve charges from multi-state investigations into ARS sales.

Auction-rate securities resemble corporate bonds, except that their interest rates reset at frequent auctions. Investors can sell the securities at auction, but if there are not enough buyers, holders may be stuck, unable to cash out.

Bank of America, Wachovia, Citigroup, RBC Capital Markets and others have agreed to return more than $67 billion to clients whose investments became worthless after the collapse of the ARS market in February 2008.

OFR's final order found that Raymond James & Associates Inc. and Raymond James Financial Services Inc. engaged in "dishonest or unethical conduct" and failed to reasonably supervise its agents.

The firm's brokers downplayed the risks of auction-rate securities, inaccurately compared them to other investments and told some clients they were "the same as cash," OFR said.

When the ARS market froze, investors could not sell their securities or withdraw their money from Raymond James' accounts.

PNC Financial Services buys RBC Bank for $3.45 billion « HousingWire

Mortgage lender PNC Financial Services Group Inc. agreed to buy RBC Bank , the U.S. banking subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada ( RY : 56.39 0.00% ), for $3.45 billion.

PNC Mortgage , a subsidiary of PNC Financial, is the 20th largest mortgage originator in the United States, originating $10.5 billion in home loans last year alone.

Once the transaction closes in March, the acquisition of RBC Bank will add $25 billion in assets, 424 bank branches, $19 billion in deposits and $16 billion in loan balances to the PNC Financial ( PNC : 58.94 0.00% ) network. RBC's current allowance for loan losses is in the $755 million-range, according to PNC.

"The addition of RBC Bank provides PNC a great opportunity to enter attractive southeast markets in a way that will create value for our shareholders," said James Rohr, PNC's chairman and chief executive officer.

RBC Bank has branches in North Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Virginia and South Carolina. Combined the two firms will have 2,870 bank branches, making it the fifth largest network in the United States.

Write to: Kerri Panchuk.

Plunkett's Banking, Mortgages and Credit Industry Almanac 2006 (E-Book), The Only Complete Guide to the Business of Banking, Lending, Mortgages and Credit Cards

Scott's Canadian sourcebook

American banker, index

Plunkett's Investment and Securities Industry Almanac 2006 (E-Book)

San Diego Magazine