Van Der Moolen Says Its Specialist Unit Receives 'Wells Notice' from the S.E.C.Business Editors AMSTERDAM, Netherlands--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 23, 2004 As Van der Moolen Van der Moolen is a Dutch equity trading firm, with its headquarters located in Amsterdam. They are mainly active in the United States and in Europe, particularly in the Netherlands, France, Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. previously announced in its October 16, 2003 press release, the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. has been conducting an investigation and has indicated its intent to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Van der Moolen's majority-owned subsidiary majority-owned subsidiary A firm in which more than 50% of outstanding voting stock is owned by the parent company. , Van der Moolen Specialists USA, based on specialist trading activity that is alleged to have disadvantaged customers who entered orders via the NYSE's Designated Order Turnaround System Designated order turnaround system (DOT) Computerized order entry system that allows orders to buy or sell large baskets of stock to be transmitted immediately to the specialist on the exchange, where execution will occur quickly, depending on the basket size. . Van der Moolen announced today that VDM See Virtual DOS Machine and CGM. 1. VDM - Vienna Definition Method 2. VDM - Virtual Device Metafile. Specialists has received a "Wells Notice A Wells Notice is a letter that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sends to people or firms when it is planning to bring an enforcement action against them. The Wells Notice indicates that the SEC staff has determined it may bring a civil action against the target. " from the Staff of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. The Wells Notice notifies the company that the SEC Staff is considering recommending that the SEC bring a civil enforcement proceeding against VDM Specialists for possible violations of federal securities laws and NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange rules arising from specialist trading activity. The NYSE also has restated its intent to bring a formal disciplinary action against VDM Specialists for possible violations of federal securities laws and NYSE rules arising from the same alleged conduct. Under SEC procedures, a Wells Notice affords VDM Specialists an opportunity to present its position to the SEC Staff before the Staff makes a formal recommendation regarding any action to be taken against VDM Specialists. The NYSE also has solicited additional information from VDM Specialists concerning reasons why a formal disciplinary action should not be brought. Van der Moolen will continue to provide further information to the SEC and NYSE in response to their requests and intends to cooperate with the SEC and NYSE in connection with their investigations. For more information about Van der Moolen, please visit www.vandermoolen.com. Van der Moolen trades on the leading US and European equity, option and fixed income exchanges. The group trades in open outcry Open Outcry A method of trading on a commodity exchange by making verbal bids and offers in the trading pits. Notes: A contract is made if one trader cries out that he wants to sell at a certain price and then another trader yells out that he will buy at that same price. and electronic markets in several time zones. On the NYSE, Van der Moolen currently has a market share of more than 10% of transaction volume for which it acts as specialist. Van der Moolen's traders worldwide execute an average of 75,000 trades a day. Turnover and price volatility are the most important factors influencing its results. Van der Moolen's shares are listed on Euronext Amsterdam (VDMN.AS). American Depositary Receipts American Depositary Receipt (ADR) Certificates issued by a US depository bank, representing foreign shares held by the bank, usually by a branch or correspondent in the country of issue. (ADRs) representing Van der Moolen shares are listed on the NYSE (VDM). Disclaimer: Certain statements contained in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements". These statements, which contain the words "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "estimate", "expect" and words of similar meaning, reflect management's beliefs and expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially. As a result, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, and are referred to the documents filed by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, specifically the Company's most recent filing on Form 20-F, which identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ. The Company disclaims any obligation to update its view of such risks and uncertainties or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to the forward-looking statements made herein, except where it would be required to do so under applicable law. |
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