Bear Stearns says SEC ends probe into muni sales
NEW YORK, July 10 (Reuters) - Bear Stearns Cos. Inc. BSC.N said on Tuesday the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has closed an investigation into the investment bank's municipal bond offering practices, and does not plan to take any action.
The probe was conducted by the regulator's Chicago office, and related to underwriting activities in Bear's office in that city.
Bear said it received a letter on June 4 that the SEC had completed its investigation. It disclosed the letter in its quarterly report filed with the agency on Tuesday.
The news was a positive during a difficult time for Bear, which manages two hedge funds that have faced huge redemption requests after suffering big declines earlier this year. Bear bailed one out and said it would let the other one fail.
Bear shares fell 4 percent Tuesday to $137.96 as two bond rating agencies started to cut ratings on more than $17 billion of bonds linked to subprime mortgages. Those downgrades may cut into Bear's underwriting business.
(Reporting by Dan Wilchins)
