SEC Probes Fifth Third For Insider Trading

The Securities and Exchange Commission is examining signs of insider trading in Fifth Third Bancorp’s trust preferred securities.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is examining signs of insider trading in Fifth Third Bancorp’s trust preferred securities, Bloomberg reports. The investigation follows a 54-fold spike in the volume of transactions before the bank decided to redeem the instruments.

The bank has offered to redeem the investments for less than market value and may compensate investors who purchased the trust preferred securities (TruPS) in the two-days before the redemption offer. Fifth Third’s $400 million of 8.875% TruPS decreased 3.7% to $25.68 on May 18, 2011.

Click here for the story from Bloomberg.