STT State Street Corporation

Ohio's treasury office is to announce Monday it is severing business ties with Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (BK) and State Street (STT) over suspicions the two banks may be defrauding Ohio pensioners, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported Monday on its website.

Treasurer Josh Mandel is expected to announce the decision and will choose new banks to act as custodians of the international assets of four Ohio pension funds. Combined, the two banks hold more than $41 billion in international assets owned by four of the state's five pension funds. Citigroup Inc. (C) and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) have submitted proposals to perform the work.

The state's attorney general last week sued Bank of New York Mellon for allegedly overcharging two state pension funds for currency trades. The bank said the suit "recycles baseless allegations from other lawsuits brought elsewhere by the same plaintiffs' lawyers," adding the company is confident it is on the right side of the facts and the law, Dow Jones Newswires reported on March 12.

Full story at: www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2012/03/ohio_treasurers_office_ending.html

-Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2900