Wells names legal chief; London whale targeted

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Tough position: Wells Fargo named Allen Parker, the former head of the prominent law firm Cravath Swaine & Moore, as its chief lawyer. He succeeds James Strother, a 30-year Wells veteran who was scheduled to retire last year when he turned 65 but stayed on as the bank sought his replacement. Parker, who will work out of the bank's San Francisco headquarters starting March 27, joins the bank "at one of its most difficult points as it continues to remain in the spotlight" following its fake accounts scandal. Wall Street Journal, Financial Times

Wall Street Journal

Whale hunt: The Federal Reserve is considering taking legal action against Bruno Iksil, the JPMorgan Chase trader known as the "London whale" who is blamed for $6.2 billion in trading losses at the bank in 2012. "If the Fed takes action, Iksil could face a large legal bill, fines and a permanent ban from working in finance," the paper reported, quoting a person close to the matter. "I have to retrieve my reputation, my intellectual property and, simply, my life. So far, all of this has been stolen," Iksil said in an interview with Financial News, a London-based sister publication of the Journal.

Bean counters wanted: "Amid accounting changes to the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles that govern U.S. financial reporting, companies are scrambling to find so-called technical accountants, regulatory experts who can understand the rules and ensure that management and staff comply," the paper reports. The problem is "there aren't enough accountants to go around," it says. "It's very difficult to find qualified people," a senior director at Johnson & Johnson said. "The big accounting firms are taking them all."

Financial Times

Dull is good: Transaction banking, the relatively humdrum business of managing cash and providing trade finance for companies, "has become the place where investment and corporate banks are increasingly pinning their hopes for the future," the paper reports. The business has been the biggest driver of revenue for international banks for the past six years, according to data compiled by Coalition, which monitors the banking industry. Last year, banks made $209 billion from transaction banking, compared with $172 billion from trading and $77 billion from capital raising and mergers and acquisitions.

New York Times

Over the line: A New York State Labor Department rule that would have prohibited employers from charging fees on prepaid cards they use to pay some employees, was struck down late last week by a state appeals board. The new rule, which would have gone into effect this week, would have required employers to guarantee that workers who receive their wages on a payroll card could make free, unlimited withdrawals from an ATM located "a reasonable travel distance" from their work or home. But the New York State Industrial Board of Appeals ruled the labor agency improperly strayed into banking regulation, exceeding its authority.

Quotable ...

"There's no doubt in my mind that it will be a highly challenging job." — Allen Parker, Wells Fargo's new chief lawyer