On September 18, the Michigan Attorney General announced that it had reached a settlement with Comerica Bank to buy back $1.46 billion in Auction Rate Securities (ARS) from any customer who purchased ARS through Comerica.  (Click here to see the Attorney General’s press release).  This is believed to be the first settlement in which an institution agreed to buy back both retail and institutional investors’ ARS.

In addition to paying fines of nearly $1 million to Michigan and FINRA, reports indicate that Comerica will repay losses to those investors who sold ARS at a loss after February 28 and will consent to a special arbitration for consequential damages arising from investors’ inability to redeem their securities.  As an example of the harm caused to investors unable to redeem ARS, the Attorney General’s press release describes one particular ARS investor who was unable to develop a 350,000-square-foot retail shopping center due to the ARS market crash.