In the Complaint, the SEC stated: "This is a case in which the Defendant misled tens of thousands of its customers regarding the fundamental nature and increasing risks associated with auction rate securities ('ARS') that UBS underwrote, marketed and sold. Through its financial advisers ('FAs'), sales personnel, and marketing materials, UBS misrepresented to customers that ARS were safe, highly liquid investments comparable to money market instruments. As a result, numerous customers invested in ARS funds they needed to have available on a short-term basis." In particular, the SEC alleged that: "On February 13, 2008, UBS determined that it would not continue to support auctions, as it had historically done, and that it would let its auctions fail. As a direct result of auction failures, over forty thousand UBS customer accounts holding more than $35 billion in auction rate securities had their investments rendered virtually illiquid overnight and, because of the illiquidity, many customers incurred market to market losses on the par value of their ARS investments held at UBS. Customers who did sell their securities in the secondary market had to do so at a loss."

The SEC stated that: "[It] finalized settlements with Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. (Citi) and UBS Securities LLC and UBS Financial Services, Inc. (UBS), that will provide nearly $30 billion to tens of thousands of customers who invested in auction rate securities before the market for those securities froze in February."

The SEC stated that: "[It] finalized settlements with Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. (Citi) and UBS Securities LLC and UBS Financial Services, Inc. (UBS) that will provide nearly $30 billion to tens of thousands of customers who invested in auction rate securities before the market for those securities froze in February."

On December 22, 2008, Federal District Judge Deborah A. Batts entered final judgment against UBS Securities LLC and UBS Financial Services Inc. pursuant to the consent of UBS Securities LLC and UBS Financial Services Inc.

On September 21, 2010, the SEC issued a litigation release announcing that UBS Securities LLC and UBS Financial Services, Inc. have satisfied their obligations under their auction rate securities with the SEC. These obligations: "returned more than $18 billion to the firm's ARS customers."