In Brief: Great Western Offers $6M to Settle Lawsuit

Great Western Financial Corp. has offered to pay $6 million to class-action plaintiffs in Florida to settle a lawsuit over its securities sales practices.

The lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in West Palm Beach, Fla., charged Great Western with telling elderly and inexperienced bank customers that mutual funds would provide a much higher yield than certificates of deposit.

The settlement offer is pending court approval.

"We are pleased this lawsuit is on its way to resolution," said a spokeswoman for Great Western. "The settlement will bring this time- consuming and costly legal process to an end."

Great Western recently agreed to settle a similar suit in California for $17.2 million.

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