Cuomo Goes After Wachovia (WB)

NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo wants blood from the banks that marketed auction-rate securities but have not made settlements with him. In his mind, Wachovia (WB), Morgan Stanley (MS), and JP Morgan (JPM) stand at the top of the list.

According to the AP, "Cuomo sent letters to JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Wachovia telling them that his office is reviewing the banks’ behavior in the sale of auction-rate securities."

Banc of America Securities has offered an opinion of what charges banks and brokerages will have to take as they buy in auction-rate securities which may be worth only $.80 on the dollar. Analyst Jeffrey Rosenberg writes that about $4 billion has already been written down, so he estimates there is about $4 billion still to come.

It is probable that most of these charges will be taken by the three big banks that Cuomo is pursuing now. For an institution as weakened as Wachovia, absorbing the losses without raising more capital may not be an option.

Cuomo may be doing the investors who hold the auction-rate paper a favor, but he is destroying the value of stock held by the banks’ shareholders. At the end of the day, he has borrowed from Peter to pay Paul.

Douglas A. McIntyre