[ad_1]
Wells Fargo & Co. will pay $ 5.1 million to settle claims of a US regulator that employees abuse customers by persuading them to sell certain investments before maturity, generating significant costs for the lender.
Brokers with From January 2009 to June 2013, Wells Fargo Advisors encouraged retail clients to sell market-related investments held to maturity until they can be replaced with new products. Securities and Exchange Commission said in a statement Monday. Wells Fargo's supervisors approved the "reversal", which hurt customer returns, in violation of internal policies, the SEC said.
"It's important that brokers do their homework before recommending to their retail clients to buy or sell complex structured products," said Daniel Michael, head of the complex financial products unit of the DRY. "The products sold by Wells Fargo came with high fees and commissions, which Wells Fargo should have taken into account before advising retail clients to sell their investments."
The SEC is focused on products, which have been criticized for their high fees and lack of transparency. L & # 39; agency condemned Merrill Lynch from Bank of America Corp. in June 2016 for misleading investors and sued UBS Group AG in October 2015 for statements relating to a structured note linked to currencies.
Wells Fargo has resolved the case without admitting or reversing the SEC's findings. The bank agreed to pay a $ 4 million fine and to pay $ 1.1 million in ill-gotten gains and interests.
"We are committed to helping our clients achieve their investment goals and to fully cooperate with the SEC's investigation," said Shea Leordeanu, a spokeswoman for Wells Fargo in an email. "We have already made policy and oversight changes related to this issue to improve internal controls."
The SEC's settlement is separate from a review of Wells Fargo's wealth management business that the bank reported in its annual regulatory filings.
– With the help of Hannah Levitt
Source link
