NEW YORK, April 9, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Wechsler Harwood LLP announced today that a class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of those individuals who purchased or otherwise acquired the common stock of Fifth Third Bancorp ("Fifth Third" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:FITB) from September 21, 2001 through January 31, 2003, inclusive (the "Class Period")
The Complaint, entitled Herr v. Fifth Third Bancorp, et al., 03 CV 255, was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Western Division, against defendants Fifth Third and certain of its senior officers and directors. A copy of the complaint is available from the Court or can be viewed on the Wechsler Harwood web site at: www.whesq.com.
The Complaint charges that defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, by issuing a series of materially false and misleading statements to the market between September 21, 2001 and January 31, 2003. Among other things, the Complaint alleges that Fifth Third issued press releases and filed financial reports with the SEC which represented that the Company had successfully and seamlessly integrated a large corporate acquisition of Old Kent into its operations. The Company further represented that its business was stronger than ever and that the Company would continue to grow and provide investment safety. According to the complaint, these statements were materially false and misleading because they failed to disclose that the Old Kent merger (as well as other mergers) seriously strained the Company's infrastructure, causing deficiencies in its internal controls and other business critical systems.
On September 10, 2002, the Company announced that it would be taking a $54 million after-tax ($81.8 million pre-tax) charge for impaired funds, resulting from a botched accounting reconciliation. According to the complaint, the Company played down the incident as a one time immaterial event, which was false and misleading because it was symptomatic of material, company-wide infrastructure deficiencies. On November 14, 2002 the Company revealed that the write-off had triggered investigations by banking regulators and the SEC. On January 31, 2003, the Company reported that banking regulators would likely take formal action against the Company, which would likely require Fifth Third to improve its internal controls, by among other things, adding personnel and processes. On February 3, 2003 the first trading day following the announcement, the price of Fifth Third common stock closed at $52.21 per share, a decline of 15% from the November 14, 2002 close of $62.53, the day Fifth Third first revealed that it was being investigated by banking regulators and the SEC.
If you are a member of the class described above, you may, not later than May 26, 2003, move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff of the class, if you so choose. In order to serve as lead plaintiff, however, you must meet certain legal requirements. Wechsler Harwood has taken a leading role in many important actions on behalf of defrauded shareholders. The Wechsler Harwood website (www.whesq.com) has more information about the firm and detailed information regarding this matter. If you wish to discuss this action with us, or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights and interests with regard to the case, please contact the following:
Wechsler Harwood LLP 488 Madison Avenue, 8th Floor New York, New York 10022 Toll Free Telephone: (877) 935-7400
Craig Lowther, Wechsler Harwood Shareholder Relations Department: clowther@whesq.com extension 257.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca