It's been a little over three months since the Reserve Primary Fund saw its share price drop below $1, and details continue to emerge about the events that occurred in the run-up to that moment. On Saturday, The Wall Street Journal reported that hours before the Primary Fund broke the buck on September 16, Bruce Bent II -- son of Reserve Management Company co-founder Bruce R. Bent and a senior vice president at the New York City-based fund firm -- tried calling Tim Geithner, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York who later became President-Elect Barack Obama's pick for Treasury Secretary, for help. Bent was unable to reach Geithner, however. In fact, he didn't get past a receptionist and when two other Fed officials called back, the conversation wasn't encouraging.

For the full story on the the death of the Reserve and its Primary Fund, see MFWire's timeline.

Bent's call for help was included in documents filed in court last week as part of an administrative complaint lodged by Massachusetts securities regulators against the Reserve (see The MFWire, 01/13/09).

The Reserve also asked the SEC and even the ICI for help. This is interesting, given that Reserve is not a member of the mutual fund trade group.

To view the complaint filed by Massachusetts regulators, click here. To view the exhibits, click here.  

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