LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Nov. 16, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Law Firm of Cauley Geller Bowman & Coates, LLP announced today that a class action has been filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of purchasers of Providian Financial Corporation ("Providian" or the "Company") (NYSE:PVN) publicly traded securities during the period between June 6, 2001 and October 18, 2001, inclusive (the "Class Period"). A copy of the complaint filed in this action is available from the Court, or can be viewed on the firm's Website at http://www.classlawyer.com/pr/pvn.pdf.
The complaint charges Providian and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The complaint alleges that defendants disseminated false and misleading statements concerning the Company's operations and prospects for Q2 and Q3 2001. In late June 2001, Providian changed the way it processes its bankruptcy filings and thus changed when it recognizes losses and deferred the recognition of approximately $30 million of charge-offs from June (and Q2 01) into July. Providian allegedly manipulated its financial statements for Q2 01 and shaved 40 basis points off its Q2 01 managed net charge-off rate of 10.3% and boosted reported EPS by $0.06. Without this change, the loss rate would have been 10.7%. This is well above defendants' guidance of 9.5%-10%. Defendants made no mention of this change on the conference call or in Providian's Q2 01 10-Q. In fact, management only admitted this change after they came under pressure from analysts following a flood of calls to their investor relations department in late August 2001. During the Class Period, taking advantage of the inflation in Providian stock, defendants Alvarez, Mehta and Rowe sold almost $22 million worth of their own Providian stock at artificially inflated prices of as much as $49.30 per share. These sales were out of line with their prior trading history.
If you bought the securities of Providian between June 6, 2001 and October 18, 2001 inclusive, and you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than December 17, 2001. If you are a member of this class, you can join this class action online at http://www.classlawyer.com/sign_up.html. Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through Cauley Geller Bowman & Coates, LLP or other counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.
Cauley Geller Bowman & Coates, LLP has substantial experience representing investors in securities fraud class action lawsuits such as this. The firm has offices in Florida, Arkansas and California, but represents investors throughout the nation. If you have any questions about how you may be able to recover for your losses, or if you would like to consider serving as one of the lead plaintiffs in this lawsuit, you are encouraged to call or e-mail the Firm or visit the Firm's Website at www.classlawyer.com.
CAULEY GELLER BOWMAN & COATES, LLP Investor Relations Department: Jackie Addison, Sue Null or Shelly Nicholson P.O. Box 25438 Little Rock, AR 72221-5438 Toll Free: 1-888-551-9944 E-mail: info@classlawyer.com
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca.