On September 16, the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) announced that it had reached a settlement with Credit Suisse under which Credit Suisse will buy back $550 million in Auction Rate Securities (ARS) from individuals, non-profits and small businesses with account sizes under $10 million.

In addition to $15 million in fines and the $550 million repurchase, the settlement calls for Credit Suisse to reimburse money lost by investors who sold ARS after the February drop in value, work to liquidate institutional investors’ shares and consent to a special arbitration to determine consequential damages resulting from investors’ inability to liquidate their ARS.

This settlement, however, has no impact on the criminal charges brought by the SEC against former Credit Suisse brokers for securities fraud and conspiracy.