The latest compliance issues in wealth management across North America.

Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo has reportedly entered into early talks with the US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission over previously disclosed probes into its sales practices, according to Reuters.

In an annual regulatory filing, the bank reportedly said that it had raised the maximum figure it could exceed its legal reserves by - as much as $2.7 billion - an increase of $500 million since it last reported the amount in November.

The US bank said that it increased the figure, which is called 'a reasonable possible loss' and is separate from the bank’s legal reserves, because of several legal matters, including ones related to its sales practices.

The California-based bank has faced a list of penalties related to a sales scandal beginning in 2015 which initially related to employees in the consumer bank opening millions of accounts in customers’ names without their permission. The matter has not, this publication understands, affected the bank's Abbot Downing business, which caters for ultra-high net worth individuals.

The report added that so far the bank has paid out over $4 billion in settlements and fines related to the saga.