Wells Fargo & Co. said the amount it may lose related to
litigation in excess of legal reserves could be as much as $1.2
billion as of June 30, up from $911 million three months earlier,
according to a regulatory filing released by the bank
Wednesday.
The estimate is closely watched by investors as a way to gauge
whether legal costs are rising or falling versus a bank's previous
expectations. Wells Fargo and other banks generally don't disclose
their reserves.
Wells Fargo has largely avoided the major legal settlements
other banks have dealt with to remedy regulatory concerns in the
run-up to the financial crisis. It did, however, reach a deal in
December 2013 to pay $541 million to Fannie Mae to settle claims
that it sold defective mortgages to the government-controlled
home-loan finance company. It has settled with other regulators on
other matters that cost the bank less money than some other banks'
fines, but still tens of millions of dollars.
The San Francisco bank remains involved in some legal
proceedings but there were no major updates or large new cases
reported in Wednesday's filing with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
Write to Emily Glazer at emily.glazer@wsj.com
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