Quattrone took the stand in his own defense yesterday at his closely watched obstruction-of-justice trial and said he was unaware investigators had issued broad requests for documents from his bank, Credit Suisse First Boston.

On Dec. 5, 2000, Quattrone sent an e-mail urging employees to "clean up those files." Bank policy required destruction of some files — unless workers knew of lawsuits or subpoenas.

"I was simply seconding or encouraging people to follow the document retention policy," he testified.

Prosecutors say Quattrone knew the extent of the investigations and deliberately tried to block them.

Investigators were looking into whether CSFB accepted kickbacks in exchange for letting clients buy shares of hot initial public offerings.

The probe closed in 2001 with no criminal charges, and CSFB paid $100 million to settle civil charges without admitting wrongdoing.

On the stand, Quattrone reflected on a call earlier on Dec. 5, 2000, from CSFB lawyer David Brodsky, concerning the SEC investigation.

But Quattrone testified he was not alarmed because the investigation was limited to how stock shares were doled out by CSFB — not the rest of the bank's role in taking companies public.