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Wells Fargo overcharged wealth unit clients; Equifax's certifications suspended

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Wells Fargo overcharged wealth unit clients; Equifax's certifications suspended

Wells Fargo & Co.'s customer-service woes have extended to its wealth management division. The San Francisco-based company disclosed that it overcharged certain wealth management clients due to incorrect fees applied to certain assets and accounts. Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, reports that in late 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice told the bank that it needed to launch an independent probe of its wealth management operation after whistleblowers within the bank complained of sales troubles that involved pushing ill-suited products onto customers.

Wells Fargo announced that four directors are retiring at the company's annual shareholder meeting on April 24, in-line with a requirement imposed under the Federal Reserve's cease and desist order against the company. These directors are John Chen, Lloyd Dean, Enrique Hernandez Jr. and Federico Peña.

Equifax Inc. disclosed that certain of its ISO certifications and payment card industry certifications have been suspended due to the 2017 cybersecurity incident. The credit reporting agency added that the suspensions could result in "fines and loss of access to data" if it fails to complete the needed remediation steps. The company added that it is facing a potential "substantial negative impact" on its business if further negative publicity continues. Equifax also disclosed that it has identified roughly 2.4 million more U.S. consumers impacted by the cybersecurity breach.

Kushner Cos. LLC the real estate company led by Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser — secured $325 million in loans from Citigroup Inc. in the spring of 2017 shortly after Kushner met with Citi CEO Michael Corbat at the White House, The New York Times reports. A Citi spokeswoman told the publication that Kushner Cos.' relationship with Citi "had no connection to Mr. Kushner's White House role." Apollo Global Management LLC also granted a $184 million loan to Kushner Cos., the report adds. A spokesman for the asset management firm told the publication that the loan was approved through the company's standard process.

On the M&A front, Floyd, Va.-based Parkway Acquisition Corp. is acquiring Wilkesboro, N.C.-based Great State Bank in a stock deal valued at approximately $14.87 per share, or $14.5 million in aggregate.

Nasdaq Inc. is suing IEX Services LLC for alleged patent infringement. Nasdaq claims that IEX, the newest U.S. stock exchange operator, knowingly infringed on seven of Nasdaq's technology patents in developing its trading platform.

In people news, Blackstone Group LP paid Chairman and CEO Stephen Schwarzman at least $800 million in 2017, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing a regulatory filing.

JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s Asia-Pacific investment banking chairman, Brian Gu, is leaving the company to join Chinese electric car manufacturer Xiaopeng Motors, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing "people familiar with the matter."

And an economist at Pacific Investment Management Co. LLC, Richard Clarida, is the front-runner to become the next Federal Reserve vice chair, "two people familiar with the effort" to fill high-ranking vacancies in the U.S. central bank told Reuters.

In other parts of the world

Asia-Pacific: Indian state banks to consolidate overseas ops; CBA unit float moves forward

Europe: LSE posts profit rise; offers made for Generali assets; Pru names new risk chief

Middle East & Africa: Barclays Africa rebrands; Fitch lowers Bahrain; BNY Mellon eyes Riyadh office

The day ahead

Early morning futures indicators pointed to a lower opening for the U.S. market.

In Asia, the Hang Seng declined 1.48% to 30,583.45, and the Nikkei 225 fell 2.50% to 21,181.64.

In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 was down 0.93% to 7,108.93, and the Euronext 100 was down 1.36% to 1,004.59.

On the macro front

The consumer sentiment report and the Baker-Hughes Rig Count report are due out today.

The Daily Dose is updated as of 7:30 a.m. ET. Some external links may require a subscription.