The law firm Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C. has filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington on behalf of its client and on behalf of other similarly situated purchasers of WSB Financial Group, Inc. ("WSB Financial" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: WSFG) common stock pursuant and/or traceable to the Company's December 13, 2006 Initial Public Offering (the "IPO") from between November 3, 2005 and May 10, 2007, inclusive (the "Class Period"). WSB Financial is the holding company for Westsound Bank, a Bremerton, Washington based financial institution that serves the Puget Sound area. The complaint charges WSB Financial and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act"). The complaint also alleges that D.A. Davidson - who acted as acted as "Lead Underwriter" of the IPO - violated the Securities Act. Specifically, the complaint alleges that, in connection with the IPO, defendants issued numerous materially false and misleading statements which caused WSB Financial's securities to trade at artificially inflated prices. As alleged in the complaint, the Company's registration statement for the IPO failed to disclose that the Company had been violating certain banking laws and regulations relating to the origination, administration and monitoring of construction and mortgage loans. Due to the Company's misleading statements, WSB Financial's stock hit an intra-day high of $21 per share during the Class Period.
According to the complaint, beginning in September 2007, a series of announcements and investigations into the Company's lending practices caused WSB Financial's stock to plummet. For example, in late September, the Company announced that due to the reduced demand of mortgage loans, the Company was eliminating thirty-three jobs in its mortgage division. Moreover, the Company announced that its Executive Vice President of Sales and Lending at Westsound Bank had been terminated. The complaint alleges that as a result of these announcements, the Company's stock fell from $15.30 per share to $12.40 per share. Then, the Company announced that state and federal regulators were looking into possible fraud and misconduct in its real estate lending practices. Within two days of this announcement the Company's stock dropped nearly 60 percent, from $11.20 on October 24, 2007 to $4.73 on October 25, 2007. If you are a member of the class, you may, no later than January 2, 2007, request that the Court appoint you as Lead Plaintiff of the class. Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serveas Lead Plaintiff through counsel of their choice or may choose to remain an absent class member. Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C. has significant experience in prosecuting investor class actions and actions involving securities fraud. The firm has offices in Washington, D.C., New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, and London, and is active in major litigation pending in federal and state courts throughout the nation. You may visit the firm's website at www.cmht.com. |