Risk

The one-notch downgrade, announced Wednesday, came in response to the Fed's unprecedented decision to halt asset growth at the embattled bank.

Regulators have repeatedly found that financial firms with more than $100 billion in assets can pose systemic risks.

This trend will continue until banks have addressed key vulnerabilities, according to John Gunn and David Vergara of VASCO Data Security.

Wells has tapped Sarah Dahlgren for a newly created position overseeing regulatory relations as the megabank tries try to remove the cloud of its phony-accounts scandal.

Data analytics provider RELX Group has agreed to acquire ThreatMetrix and its digital risk-assessment network for $816.5 million (580 million pounds) in cash.

Some bankers spread the religion of this year's feel-good World Economic Forum, but others were more circumspect. The list of potential threats remains lengthy — including trade wars and the bursting of the bitcoin bubble — and all pose risks to banks and the economy.

Financial firms have mostly shrugged off the government's budget woes, but Washington's gridlock might pose a bigger risk than they think.

The proliferation of wearable devices, their increasing sophistication, the uptick in wearable-optimized applications and the willingness of consumers to trade PII for convenience is converging to create a perfect storm of risk that has the potential to threaten commercial enterprises, writes Michael Lynch, chief strategy officer at InAuth.

The wave of sexual harassment claims has forced a very public reckoning in certain industries, but financial services firms had largely escaped the spotlight. The departure of a Bank of America executive could signal that the industry has problems lurking behind the scenes.

Wells may have settled with former employee Claudia Ponce de Leon because it wanted to avoid the "massive exposure" of a jury trial, an expert says. It is unclear how the agreement will affect Wells’ other cases.