Merrill Lynch customers who purchased Bernoulli High Grade Collateralized Debt Obligations could recover their losses through securities arbitration. Bernoulli High Grade CDO-II was sold to institutional and high-net-worth customers of Merrill Lynch. The Bernoulli High Grade CDO-II was underwritten by Merrill Lynch in 2007. However, all 30 of the CDOs underwritten by Merrill Lynch in 2007 were either in technical default, had their best-rated portion cut to junk, were in danger of being liquidated or were in the process of being liquidated by the summer of 2008. Stock fraud lawyers are now investigating how Bernoulli High Grade CDO-II was marketed and sold by Merrill Lynch.
Securities that are backed by underlying pools of loans or bonds are CDOs, or collateralized debt obligations. While these investments are inherently risky, they are relatively common among “qualified investors.” Currently, stock fraud lawyers are also investigating if Merrill Lynch properly disclosed the CDO risks to investors in the sale of Bernoulli High Grade CDO-II. Furthermore, the value of Bernoulli High Grade CDO-II may have been inflated and overstated by Merrill Lynch. Many investment attorneys believe that Merrill Lynch either knew or should have known the 2007 CDO deals were bad in the existing mortgage market conditions, given the poor performance of the CDOs.
On January 31, 2012, a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Arbitration Panel awarded $1.38 million to Bobby Hayes, an investor who purchased Collateralized Debt Obligations from Merrill Lynch in 2007. For more on this case, see the previous blog post, “After Securities Arbitration, Merrill Lynch Must Pay $1.4 Million to Investor Over CDO Loss.”
Numerous securities arbitrations have already been filed on behalf of CDO investors who suffered significant losses. If you believe you have a valid claim, find out more about your legal rights and options by contacting an investment attorney at The Law Office of Christopher J. Gray at (866) 966-9598 for a no-cost, confidential consultation.