Bank of America, Wells Fargo Fined Over Loan Funds

Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co. were ordered to pay about $5.2 million in fines and restitution by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority over sales of loan funds.

Brokers at units of the two banks recommended funds that invested in floating-rate debt to customers who weren’t looking for risky deals, the industry-funded regulatory group said today in a statement. Bank of America was fined $900,000 and ordered to reimburse $1.1 million in losses, while San Francisco-based Wells Fargo was ordered to pay a $1.25 million fine and about $2 million in restitution.

Salespeople at Banc of America Investment Services and Wells Fargo Investments recommended the unsuitable mutual funds in 2007 and 2008, FINRA said in regulatory filings. Customers lost money when they sold the funds after their value fell during the financial crisis, according to the regulator.

“Wells Fargo and Banc of America allowed their brokers to sell floating-rate bank loan funds to investors for whom the positions were unsuitable, resulting in significant losses to many customers,” Brad Bennett, FINRA’s chief of enforcement, said in the statement.

The banks neither admitted nor denied the charges, FINRA said. Bill Halldin, a spokesman for Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America, said the firm was pleased to resolve the issue, while Wells Fargo’s Erica Van Ross declined to comment on FINRA’s allegations.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
Mutual funds Compliance Money Management Executive
MORE FROM FINANCIAL PLANNING