By Saabira Chaudhuri
Wells Fargo & Co. on Wednesday narrowed its estimated losses
from litigation related to mortgage investigations, lowering the
top end of its range by $40 million.
The San Francisco bank said the most it could lose to litigation
was $911 million at the end of the first quarter, down from a
projected maximum of $951 million at the end of 2013.
Like other banks, Wells Fargo is being investigated over alleged
mortgage-related abuses. The bank didn't disclose any new
investigations related to that effort.
The bank did however say that last month it had reached a
settlement with some securities lending customers in a case brought
by the employee retirement system for the City of Farmington Hills,
Mich. The settlement was for an undisclosed amount and still needs
court approval.
The pension plan had alleged that Wells Fargo had invested the
assets of clients of its securities lending program into "risky and
illiquid securities that have declined greatly in value" and is
liable for these losses.
"Wells Fargo was focused at all times on serving our clients'
interests and we worked very hard and responsibly to achieve the
best results for all of the participants in the (securities
lending) program during very difficult economic conditions," said
the bank in a statement. "This conservative approach resulted in
plaintiffs' Wells Fargo Securities Lending portfolios having
minimal losses of 5% or less, compared with substantial losses
experienced by other investors during the height of the financial
crisis."
Wells Fargo shares have risen 8.7% so far this year, the best
performance of any large U.S. bank.
Write to Saabira Chaudhuri at saabira.chaudhuri@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires