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Wachovia reaches settlement with ex-analyst

Charlotte Business Journal

January 11, 2006

Wachovia Corp. has reached a settlement with a former research analyst who filed a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration last year, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The former analyst, Arturo Cifuentes, alleged he was fired by Wachovia in April after disclosing he had been pressured to publish research reports timed to coincide with the firm's arranging or underwriting of structured-finance deals. He also contended he was dismissed because he refused to certify his pay wasn't tied to his recommendations.

Cifuentes was employed by Wachovia Securities for nearly two years. In his job, he followed the collateralized debt-obligation market. "The matter has been settled to the satisfaction of the parties," Jenice Malecki, his attorney, told the newspaper.

Christy Phillips, a Wachovia spokeswoman, said the matter had been resolved. Both women declined to elaborate, the Journal reports.

In October, the Securities and Exchange Commission took on-the-record testimony from Cifuentes as part of a preliminary investigation into the firing. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has had jurisdiction over whisteblower complaints in the securities industry since the enactment of Sarbanes-Oxley in 2002.

Wachovia Securities is a division of Charlotte-based Wachovia (NYSE:WB).