Statement By Attorney General Andrew Cuomo

I am pleased to announce that Fidelity Investments today has become the first downstream retail broker to settle and agree to buy back Auction Rate Securities from its customers. This means that Fidelity will return approximately $300 million to its customers by the end of the year. Obviously, Fidelity's involvement with Auction Rate Securities is, in important respects, different from that of the underwriters and investment banks with whom we have previously settled. In sum, I applaud Fidelity for the actions that it has taken today and hope that they will serve as an example to other broker-dealers. Fidelity has stepped up and shown itself to be a market leader and a company that wants to do right by its customers who have been stuck holding these securities.