PUTNAM INVESTMENTS

Morgan Stanley Veteran Joins Board

Putnam Investments, the $151 billion money manager, added veteran investment-bank executive Gregory Fleming to its board of directors, people familiar with the matter said.

The appointment marks Mr. Fleming's reappearance in the financial-services industry after his January departure from a senior leadership role at Morgan Stanley. He currently is serving as a senior research scholar at Yale Law School, where he is teaching this year.

Mr. Fleming was an investment banker to money managers before ascending to senior roles at Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley. He stepped down as head of the latter's wealth-management business earlier this year amid signs he wasn't in position to succeed James Gorman as Morgan Stanley's chairman and chief executive.

Putnam is owned by Great-West Lifeco Inc., a unit of Power Financial Corp. Boston-based Putnam manages more than 80 mutual funds.

--Justin Baer

REGULATION

High-Speed Trader Scrutinized in China

A Dutch high-frequency trader is facing scrutiny from China's securities regulator over its futures-trading activities, reflecting sustained efforts to crack down on irregularities following the stock-market meltdown last year.

The Shanghai-based affiliate of IMC BV,aDutch financial and asset-management firm known for its high-frequency-trading strategy, has received inquiries from the China Securities Regulatory Commission related to its futures trading, the firm said in an emailed statement.

"All discussions between IMC and the regulator have been constructive and positive," IMC said, adding that it had confirmed with external counsel that its futures-trading activity in China complied with all regulations and exchange rules.

The company said it was cooperating with the regulator, including explaining the unit's trading strategies. The statement didn't provide details on the kinds of futures that were the subject of the Chinese regulator's inquiry.

Regulatory officials couldn't be reached for comment.

Yifan Xie

WELLS FARGO

Delayed Mortgage Letters Costs Bank

Mortgage lender Wells Fargo Bank NA has agreed to pay $3.45 million over a processing error that delayed letters to nearly 8,000 homeowners in bankruptcy, shortening the notice time they got about changes to their monthly mortgage-payment amounts.

In a letter filed to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Greenbelt, Md., officials at the Wells Fargo & Co. unit said they have worked out a deal with a Justice Department watchdog agency to fix the mailing error and credit homeowners who received delayed notifications in the mail.

The processing delay meant that some homeowners weren't getting 21 days' worth of notice before a change in their mortgage-payment amount -- a period required under U.S. bankruptcy law, according to the letter.

The Justice Department division, the U.S. Trustee Program, said the error was discovered by an independent reviewer who was installed as part of an $81.6 million settlement with bank officials in November.

Under that settlement, bank officials admitted that they had failed to notify thousands of bankrupt homeowners that it was increasing their mortgage payments.

Specifically, the Justice Department said Wells Fargo acknowledged that it failed to file more than 100,000 notices involving homeowners in bankruptcy between Dec. 1, 2011, and March 31 of this year, according to earlier court papers. A Wells Fargo spokesman declined to comment on the latest $3.4 million settlement.

--Katy Stech

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 26, 2016 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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