GE Says It Has Received 'Wells Notice' From SEC Relating to Accounting Investigation

By Theo Francis

General Electric Co. said it has received a notice from the staff at the Securities and Exchange Commission warning that the agency could bring a civil action against the company for allegedly violating securities laws.

The industrial giant said in a securities filing Tuesday that it received the so-called Wells notice on Sept. 30 over the company's accounting for reserves related to an insurance business it started to wind down in prior years.

A Wells notice is a letter saying the SEC plans to bring an enforcement action and gives the recipient an opportunity to argue why the action shouldn't be taken.

The SEC and the Justice Department have been investigating GE's accounting for about two years after the company disclosed large write-downs tied to a legacy insurance business and its power business.

(More to come.)

Write to Theo Francis at theo.francis@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 06, 2020 15:01 ET (19:01 GMT)

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