Wells Fargo & Co has agreed to pay $3 billion (2.3 billion pounds) to resolve criminal and civil probes into fraudulent sales practices and has admitted to pressuring employees in a fake-accounts scandal, U.S. officials said on Friday, wrapping up one of the last major investigations looming over the bank. Wells Fargo will pay the penalties to the U.S. Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission and enter into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement during which the San Francisco-based bank will continue to cooperate with any ongoing government investigations, Justice Department officials said. In a statement, Charles Scharf, Wells Fargo's new chief executive, described the past conduct as "reprehensible." Wells Fargo is the fourth-largest U.S. lender....
(Bloomberg) -- Wells Fargo & Co. will pay $3 billion to settle U.S. investigations into more than a decade of widespread consumer abuses under a deal that lets the scandal-ridden bank avoid criminal charges.The deferred-prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice spares the company a potential conviction that can create serious complications for banks, if it cooperates with continuing probes and abides by other conditions for three years. The accord also resolves a complaint by the Securities and Exchange Commission.Investigators found Wells Fargo’s overly aggressive sales targets led thousands of employees to open millions of bogus accounts for customers and foist other products on them from 2002 to 2016, often by creating false records or misappropriating their identities, the Justice Department said Friday. That generated millions of dollars in fees and interest and in some cases damaged customers’ credit ratings.“Our settlement with Wells Fargo, and the $3 billion criminal monetary penalty...
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Investors in the retail sector can’t get their fill of gas stations. Seven & i Holdings Co., the Japanese company that controls 7-Eleven, is in exclusive talks to acquire Marathon Petroleum Corp.’s Speedway gas stations for about $22 billion, people familiar with the matter told Scott Deveau, Kiel Porter and Manuel Baigorri of Bloomberg News.That’s not the only deal out there. EG Group, a closely held U.K. forecourts operator that had also shown an interest in Speedway, this week offered A$3.9 billion ($2.6 billion) in cash for the gas stations owned by Caltex Australia Ltd.Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. is also bidding for Caltex’s entire business, including its refinery and fuel distribution unit as well as the retail gas-station network. Couche-Tard, Seven & i, and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. went on a similar spree for U.S. fuel retailers, truck stops and convenience stores in 2017.The argument for these deals is quite straightforward. Grocery retail for...
On Thursday, Morgan Stanley entered into a deal to buy E*Trade, the biggest acquisition by a major Wall Street bank since the 2007-2009 financial crisis. E*Trade has been the subject of M&A speculation for some time, especially after Charles Schwab Corp said it would buy TD Ameritrade Holding Corp last year. If Morgan Stanley terminates the deal due to antitrust issues, E*Trade would receive $525 million, Morgan Stanley said in a regulatory filing https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/895421/000095010320003111/dp121716_8k.htm....
The Diamond Princess quarantine was a two-week nightmare for many, after passengers tested positive for coronavirus. But at least two passengers would cruise again....
