Eight executives of Bank of America Corp. were subpoenaed by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, increasing pressure on B of A to settle a probe of auction-rate securities, a person familiar with negotiations said.
Mr. Cuomo's office sent the subpoenas Wednesday and Thursday, the person said. Bank of America also must settle with Massachusetts or face legal action, Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin said Wednesday.
UBS AG, Citigroup Inc., Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wachovia Corp., Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., and Deutsche Bank AG all settled claims in the last month that they fraudulently marketed the long-term securities as cash equivalents. The $330 billion market collapsed in February, leaving thousands of investors unable to sell auction-rate securities.
"We don't comment on whether we receive subpoenas or not," Bank of America spokeswoman Shirley Norton said Thursday.
She has said that B of A is cooperating with regulators and that it does not comment on communications with them.
