While many of the firms implicated in the fund scandal are worrying over civil and criminal charges, the publicly traded companies are fretting over their market value. The day after it acknowledged it might have permitted five institutional clients to market time its Excelsior Funds, Charles Schwab's stock lost nearly 8%, or $1.4 billion of its market value, while American Express and PNC Financial Services Group, which also said they are being investigated, lost around 1% apiece.
"For Schwab, which positioned itself as the white knight in the securities industry, to have some kind of blemish puts a bit of a ding in the image they tried to create," said Jeffrey Harte, an analyst with Sandler O'Neill & Partners.
Copyright 2003 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.thomsonmedia.com http://www.mmexecutive.com
