NEW YORK, Feb. 13, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- The law firm of Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP announces that a class action lawsuit was filed on February 1, 2002, on behalf of purchasers of the securities of PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. ("PNC" or the "Company") (NYSE:PNC) between July 19, 2001 and January 29, 2002, inclusive. A copy of the complaint filed in this action is available from the Court, or can be viewed on Milberg Weiss' website at: http://www.milberg.com/pnc/
The action is pending in the United States District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania, located at U.S. Post Office and Courthouse, Seventh & Grant Streets, P.O. Box 1805, Pittsburgh, PA 15230, against defendants PNC, Ernst & Young, LLP, James E. Rohr and Robert L. Haunschild.
The Complaint alleges 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 material misrepresentations to the market between July 19, 2001 and January 29, 2002, thereby artificially inflating the price of PNC securities. The complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, defendants issued multiple press releases reporting PNC's quarterly financial performance, and filed reports confirming such performance with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). These reports positively portrayed PNC's performance during the Class Period. As alleged in the complaint, however, these statements were materially false and misleading because the Company was engaged in improper and/or suspect accounting practices which affected the accuracy of its financial results and that, contrary to the statements in documents filed with the SEC during the Class Period, PNC's financial statements issued during the Class Period were not prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.
On January 29, 2002, PNC issued a press release announcing that the Federal Reserve Board had raised concerns about accounting inaccuracies in the Company's financial statements for the second, third, and fourth quarters of fiscal year 2001. Specifically, PNC had failed to consolidate preferred interests in three subsidiaries. As a result, the Company announced that it would restate its earnings for the second and third quarters of fiscal year 2001 and revise its fourth quarter earnings for the same year, resulting in year-end earnings being reduced $155 million to approximately $412 million, or $1.38 a share. The Company also revealed that these accounting adjustments would cause PNC's nonperforming assets to rise by $125 million to $393 million. Additionally, PNC stated that the Federal Reserve Board and SEC were making inquiries about PNC's transactions and that the Company would cooperate with the investigations. In response to these disclosures, shares of PNC fell $5.79, or nearly 10%, to close at $56.08 on extremely heavy trading volume of 6,305,100 shares.
If you bought the securities of PNC between July 19, 2001 and January 29, 2002, you may, no later than April 2, 2002, request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member's claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Under certain circumstances, one or more class members may together serve as "lead plaintiff." Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. You may retain Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.
Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP, a 190-lawyer firm with offices in New York City, San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boca Raton, Seattle and Philadelphia, is active in major litigations pending in federal and state courts throughout the United States. Milberg Weiss has taken a leading role in many important actions on behalf of defrauded investors, consumers, and companies, as well as victims of World War II and other human rights violations, and has been responsible for more than $30 billion in aggregate recoveries. The Milberg Weiss Web site (http://www.milberg.com) has more information about the firm.
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 attorneys:
Steven G. Schulman or Samuel H. Rudman One Pennsylvania Plaza, 49th fl. New York, NY, 10119-0165 Phone number: (800) 320-5081 Email: PNCcase@milbergNY.com Website: http://www.milberg.com
More information on this or other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca