FleetBoston Financial Corp. could become the first financial firm to reach a settlement with regulators following a high-profile probe of trading practices at the New York Stock Exchange, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday citing unnamed sources.
The company's Fleet Specialist unit is prepared to pay between $30 million and $50 million to settle charges against its specialist firm which oversees, along with other firms, the buying and selling of stocks on the NYSE trading floor.
Five specialist firms have held several meetings with regulators and will meet on Thursday to work on settlements, the paper said.
Fleet has been more receptive to settling than its peers largely because it is in the process of being bought by Bank of America Corp. and is eager to put the probe behind it, the Journal said citing people close to the situation.
A broad settlement with all the firms is expected to total at least $150 million in fines and restitution to investors, the paper said.
Bear Stearns Cos.' Bear Wagner Specialists is still working to finalize its agreement with regulators, but is prepared to pay a fine of about $15 million, which includes client restitution, the story said.
The other firms, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Spear, Leeds & Kellogg; LaBranche & Co; and Van Der Moolen Holding NV's Van Der Moolen Specialists USA, are also in talks with regulators but their discussions are at less-final stages, according to the report.