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The Morning Risk Report: Wells Fargo Breaks Down Internal Audit Silos to Fend Off Scandals |
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Wells Fargo over the past two years has increased head count in its auditing division by about a third. PHOTO: EVE EDELHEIT/BLOOMBERG NEWS
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Good day. Wells Fargo & Co.’s 103-page business-standards report, released last week to address changes the bank has made in response to a string of scandals, revealed nuanced changes to the company’s system of internal checks.
The tweaks to the San Francisco company’s internal auditing team—a unit known as the “third line of defense” in risk parlance—led to the creation of several new teams, including one that focuses exclusively on identifying inconsistent consumer practices.
[Continued below...]
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Alterations within the company’s auditing division, in place for months but disclosed Wednesday, are part of a broader effort to improve risk management at Wells Fargo.
The lender has been fighting to improve its reputation following a string of regulatory investigations throughout the bank, including in retail banking, wealth management and foreign exchange.
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| From Risk & Compliance Journal |
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A Petróleos de Venezuela SA gas station. PHOTO: CARLOS BECERRA/BLOOMBERG NEWS
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The U.S. will allow Americans to buy oil and oil products from Venezuela’s state oil company until April 28, the Treasury Department said Friday.
The authorization came as part of guidance released after the U.S. imposed sanctions Monday on Petróleos de Venezuela, or PdVSA. The sanctions are the culmination of a two-year U.S. campaign to pressure the Venezuelan government led by President Nicolás Maduro to leave power and to exert greater influence over Latin America.
Complying with the sanctions, however, may pose a challenge for companies and individuals, sanctions attorneys said, citing how interconnected PdVSA is with the U.S. economy.
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Deutsche Bank rebuffed the Trump Organization’s request in 2016 to increase a loan for the Florida golf resort. PHOTO: MICHELE EVE SANDBERG/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
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Deutsche Bank AG rebuffed a request from the Trump Organization in March 2016 to increase a loan for the Trump National Doral, a Florida golf resort, because of concerns about expanding the bank’s relationship with then-candidate Donald Trump or his company, according to people familiar with the matter.
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Meanwhile, congressional investigators expect the House Financial Services Committee to examine Deutsche's efforts after the 2016 election to shed a loan it made to VTB Group, a large Russian state-owned bank.
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After a banner year, many small U.S. businesses are becoming more cautious about their investment and hiring plans. Some are responding to early signs of slowing sales, while others fear that tariffs, unstable financial markets, the aftereffects of the government shutdown and other headwinds could damp economic growth in 2019.
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The largest number of Chinese public companies in a decade expect to incur annual losses after a weak economy hit businesses and eroded asset values. A total of 395 companies listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen said they expect to record a net loss for 2018, according to Wind data—the biggest annual tally since at least 2009.
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Lloyd Blankfein, who retired as Goldman’s CEO Oct. 1, was paid $20.5 million in 2018, the company said Friday. PHOTO: ALESSANDRO DELLA VALLE/EPA-EFE/R/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK
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Goldman Sachs Group Inc. could withhold millions of dollars in pay from former chief Lloyd Blankfein because of the scandal around a corrupt Malaysian investment fund, the bank said.
Goldman’s board of directors won’t—for now—pay out deferred bonuses that Mr. Blankfein and two other former top executives earned in prior years, and will instead await the outcome of an investigation into Goldman’s work for the Malaysian fund, known as 1MDB. The bank said it might also claw back some of the $23 million it paid new Chief Executive David Solomon in 2018.
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Apple apologized for the flaw in its FaceTime app that enabled a user calling another in a group video-chat to eavesdrop. PHOTO: SASCHA STEINBACH/SHUTTERSTOCK
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Apple Inc. apologized for a security flaw in its FaceTime video-chat system and said a software fix is coming next week, as the iPhone maker sought to assure customers it moved fast to address an embarrassing vulnerability that drew the attention of government officials.
“We sincerely apologize to our customers who were affected and all who were concerned about this security issue,” an Apple spokesman said in a statement Friday. “We appreciate everyone’s patience as we complete this process.”
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Spotify’s logo on a smartphone screen. The company is in talks to buy Gimlet Media. PHOTO: HAYOUNG JEON/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK
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Mining mogul Anil Agarwal has sold the rights to a large stake in mining giant Anglo American to Vedanta, the Indian resources group he is the majority owner in.
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Gannett Co. suitor Digital First Media has hired a financial adviser as it seeks to press its $1.4 billion bid for the USA Today publisher. Digital First recently retained investment bank Moelis & Co. for advice on the bid and how to fund it, according to people familiar with the matter. It is also being advised by law firm Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP.
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Foxconn Technology Group, a major supplier to Apple Inc., said Friday that it has decided go ahead with the construction of a liquid-crystal display factory in Wisconsin, two days after saying building such a plant would be economically unfeasible.
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A small Florida airline, Silver Airways LLC, is doubling down on a passenger plane that bigger carriers have long abandoned: the turboprop.
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Inside the insulin production plant of Novo Nordisk in Chartres, France. PHOTO: POOL NEW/REUTERS
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Danish insulin maker Novo Nordisk is forecasting a rise in the working capital it would need as it prepares for a potentially disruptive Brexit, including product stockpiles and alternative means of drug transportation.
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Cigna Corp. said a new federal proposal that would curb rebates from drugmakers would have minimal impact on its results and offered conservative earnings guidance for 2019, the first year it will include the operations of Express Scripts Holding Co.
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