Wirehouses

The firm netted a $668 million profit as executives said it is beginning to see the benefits from its purchase of the final stake in Smith Barney from Citigroup.

The owner of the world’s biggest brokerage set aside a smaller share of revenue to pay employees at its investment-banking and trading division in the first nine months of the year.

Bank of America posted strong revenue growth in the same quarter its big rivals showed weakness on bread-and-butter banking. But concerns about its higher litigation expenses overshadowed the good news.

Stockbrokers routinely succeeded in erasing settlements of customer complaints from their regulatory records in the wake of 2008’s market turmoil, making it harder for investors to research the money managers, a group of plaintiffs lawyers said.

The firm told clients its money-market funds aren’t holding Treasuries that mature in the next month as Congress debates whether to raise the U.S. debt ceiling.

Revenue at the Global Wealth and Investment Management division, including Merrill Lynch and U.S. Trust, was off from 2Q records.

Banks are looking to the relative safety and profitability of their wealth management divisions to boost earnings. But with that strategy comes increased regulatory and ethical scrutiny of this business line.

A reserve release boosted profits at the wealth division although transaction revenue and commissions declined.

The board voted Thursday to adopt two attestation standards pertaining to audits of brokers and dealers, along with an auditing standard for broker-dealer audits.

Wells Fargo said third-quarter profit climbed 13% to a record as fewer loan defaults and lower expenses helped overcome weakness in mortgage lending.

Educators say they expect full explanation and transparency.

The firm picked up five advisors with almost $450 million in assets under management.

Amid a surge in consumer assets, firms that cater to high-net-worth clients have a particular advantage, Chip Roame told an audience at the Tiburon CEO Summit.

A recent round of hires includes one Wells Fargo advisor with over $1 billion in assets under management.

The Swiss Bank is reviewing loans issued to clients in Puerto Rico. One brokerage customer said he was given credit to buy risky bond funds holding the island’s government debt.

The firm is trying to find if its advisors improperly offered non-purpose loans to clients for purchase of its securities.

UBS O’Connor, the UBS AG unit with $5.2 billion of assets, plans to open its first Asia-focused hedge fund to investors later this year, said two people with knowledge of the matter.

Bank of America completed the merger of its Merrill Lynch & Co. subsidiary into the parent company to simplify the corporate structure.

The two big wirehouses back the CFP Board’s move to strip out its 'fee-only listings.

As Septmber draws to a close, we've gathered together the most popular stories of the month. Don't miss the top five.