Ex-BT Salesman Fined $50,000 in Gibson Case

A former derivatives salesman at Bankers Trust New York Corp.'s securities unit has been barred from the investment and securities industry for misleading Gibson Greetings Inc. about losses on derivatives.

The salesman, Mitchell Vazquez, was fined $50,000 under a joint settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Reserve Board without admitting or denying wrongdoing.

The commission charged that between October 1992 and March 1994 "Vazquez recklessly misled Gibson about the value of the company's derivatives positions by providing Gibson with values that significantly understated the magnitude of Gibson's losses."

In 1994, Gibson said it lost $23 million on a derivatives investment it bought from Bankers Trust.

Mr. Vazquez has the right to apply for readmission to an investment or securities trade group after four years.

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