Short Takes: Boatmen's Ark. Unit Drops Worthen Name

Boatmen's Investment Services Inc. has changed the name of its Arkansas retail securities group, Worthen Investments Inc., to Boatmen's Investment Services of Arkansas Inc..

In March, Boatmen's Bancshares, St. Louis, acquired the holdings of Little Rock-based Worthen Banking Corp., including the brokerage unit.

Larry D. Bayliss, a Boatmen's senior vice president, said the name change followed completion of the acquisition.

The name change also comes on the heels of a $258,400 fine against Worthen Investments levied in November by the National Association of Securities Dealers.

The penalty arose from complaints filed between 1992 and 1994 - long before the firm was acquired by Boatmen's.

The regulators alleged that former Worthen employees misled investors about the risks involved with mutual funds compared with traditional bank products.

Boatmen's cooperated with the investigation.

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