Send In The Accountants

Wachovia problems.

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - Securities regulators from six U.S. states mounted a surprise inspection of the St. Louis headquarters of Wachovia Securities on Thursday as part of a probe into the firm's sales and marketing of auction-rate debt, Missouri officials said.

The office of Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan said a team of 10 regulators went into the St. Louis headquarters of the securities firm seeking information about the Wachovia Corp <WB.N> affiliate's sales practices, internal evaluations of the auction-rate securities market and marketing strategies.

The move on the headquarters came after Wachovia Securities failed to comply with information requests from Missouri securities regulators, state officials said.