Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) shares were down nearly 30% today after a Seeking Alpha author, Auerlius posted a blog about how BANC was tied to some shady business with fraud man Jason Galanis:
http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/38682326-aurelius/4925647-…
He even created a web site for his allegations:
Sound familiar? It should, it is almost like what has happened with BOFI and the short pieces written by Auerlius and others on Seeking Alpha.
I am not too familiar with BANC and the allegations but it definitely has spooked investors. Jason Galanis admitted to guilt of fraud regarding a company called Gerova:
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-banker-fraud-idUSKCN10…
Not to mention the CFO quit after 1 year:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-20/banc-of-ca…
It will be interesting to see how this one plays out as BOFI looks to turn around from its own set of allegations.
How’s this related to BOFI? Hopefully Auerlius and the other short sellers have given up on shorting BOFI and moved on to other targets wishful thinking. More importantly it highlights the risk in investing in financial institutions - the small one’s are easy to manipulate and all of them have a shroud of mystery behind their operations (see Wells Fargo) which is always a risk.
Sincerely,
Charlie
Your BOFI Ticker Guide
Long BOFI