Wells Fargo companies, Merrill Lynch to pay $60 million to settle SEC expenses

By Chris Prentice

(Reuters) -Merrill Lynch and two Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) advisory companies have agreed to pay a mixed $60 million in civil penalties to settle U.S. Securities and Trade Fee expenses over compliance failures, the regulator mentioned on Friday.

In keeping with the SEC, Wells Fargo and Merrill Lynch companies did not undertake and implement insurance policies and procedures to think about the perfect pursuits of their purchasers in reference to their money sweep packages, thus failing of their obligations to stop violations of securities legislation and guidelines.

The companies supplied financial institution deposit sweep packages as the one money choice for many purchasers, receiving a monetary profit, and did not undertake and implement insurance policies and procedures to think about the perfect pursuits of their purchasers, SEC mentioned in an announcement.

Wells Fargo and Merrill Lynch didn’t admit or deny the SEC’s findings.

A spokesperson for Wells Fargo, which agreed to pay $35 million throughout two companies, mentioned in an announcement: “Our settlement with the SEC places this broader trade matter behind us”, noting the agency has addressed the problems.

A spokesperson for Financial institution of America, which owns Merrill Lynch, mentioned the agency took “important steps” to deal with the problem earlier than studying of the SEC’s investigation.

Merrill Lynch was additionally one of many largest to supply a considerably increased money sweep price for advisory purchasers’ uninvested money, the spokesperson mentioned within the assertion. Merrill Lynch agreed to pay a $25 million fantastic as a part of the settlement with the SEC.