* Forreston, Ill.-based High Point Financial Services is buying Poplar Grove, Ill.-based Poplar Grove State Bank in a deal expected to close in the fourth quarter.
* As settlement for allegedly opening unauthorized accounts for members of the Navajo Nation, Wells Fargo will shell out $6.5 million, Reuters reports. The Native American tribe sued the bank in 2017, describing the latter's actions as "predatory and unlawful." The agreement follows a string of big fines and settlements the bank has had to shoulder amid issues related to its risk management operation and culture.
* South Texas Money Management agreed to join CAPTRUST Financial Advisors, independent wealth management and institutional investment advisory firm.
* Financial planning startup Grove will join California-based investment manager Wealthfront to help boost the latter's Self-Driving Money offering. Chris Hutchins and Chris Doyle founded Grove in 2015.
* Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker and Dallas Fed chief Robert Kaplan expressed that they're not too keen about additional rate cuts following the central bank's July slash of benchmark rates by 25 basis points, Bloomberg News reports. Harker said the central bank should wait and see how things pan out first, and Kaplan said he'd like to hold off on further action. Kaplan, however, supported the central bank's move last month and is open to further cuts should global growth prospects necessitate it, The Wall Street Journal reports. Kansas City Fed President Esther George and Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren both voted against the July rate cut.
* A July survey indicated that primary dealer banks were not satisfied with Federal Reserve communications just before the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, The Wall Street Journal reports. Several surveyed organizations put the central bank's communication on the "ineffective" side, saying they found it "confusing" and "inconsistent."
* The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission greenlighted Long-Term Stock Exchange's first set of listing requirements. Backed by some of Silicon Valley's most prominent investors, the exchange venture plans to launch a stock trading and listing venue that will be specifically designed to promote long-term thinking among the companies listed there.
*The SEC also imposed a fine of more than $16 million on Deutsche Bank in connection with the alleged unlawful hiring process at the German lender. The regulator said Deutsche Bank allegedly hired relatives of foreign government officials in Russia and Asia-Pacific to clinch or maintain business relationships, breaching a law on books and records and internal accounting controls.
* Service CU has settled lawsuits between the credit union and its former CEO, Gordon Simmons, CUToday reports. Simmons had sued the credit union, claiming breach of contract related to insurance coverage that was supposed to be provided to him and his wife, while the organization countered with a lawsuit that alleged Simmons, among other accusations, had an affair with his executive assistant.
* Louisiana Department of Insurance Commissioner James Donelon ordered State Farm Fire and Casualty to cease and desist from imposing a hurricane duration deductible on claims made by its homeowners insurance policyholders for Hurricane Barry losses.
* UnitedHealth Group will divest DaVita Medical Group's healthcare provider organization to Intermountain Healthcare at the behest of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. The FTC flagged the healthcare provider organization as an area of overlap in UnitedHealth's $4.34 billion acquisition of DaVita Medical Group, which closed in June.
* Axis Re Bermuda President and Chief Underwriting Officer Peter Kiernan is leaving the company, The Insurance Insider reports.
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