Several media outlets have reported that San Francisco-based Wells Fargo's wealth management division could come under fresh scrutiny from the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Wall Street’s main watchdog may probe Wells Fargo’s wealth management unit over whether it mis-sold clients in-house investment services against their best interests, media reports say. 

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is concerned the bank may have made client referrals that violated securities laws, according to reports, which cite people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the regulator’s involvement in the probe is not public. 

In a regulatory filing on Thursday, Wells Fargo said it is “assessing whether there have been inappropriate referrals or recommendations, including with respect to rollovers for 401(k) plan participants, certain alternative investments, or referrals of brokerage customers to the company’s investment and fiduciary-services business.” The bank added that the review of its wealth management business was prompted by inquiries from federal agencies.

Family Wealth Report has reached out to Wells Fargo for comment and will update coverage accordingly. 

Board Changes
Also, Wells Fargo & Company has announced that John Chen, Lloyd Dean, and Enrique Hernandez Jr, currently the board’s longest serving directors, and Federico Peña, who was scheduled to retire from the board in 2019, have decided to retire at the company’s 2018 annual meeting of shareholders.

As a result of these retirements, the board will nominate 12 of its current directors for election at the company’s annual meeting of shareholders, scheduled to be held on April 24, 2018.