Weekly Global News Wrap: BBVA sets up finance unit for clean tech; Wells Fargo sued for ‘fake accounts’ scandal

Top regulator calls for EU banks to improve risk management.

From Reuters:
Spain's BBVA set up a new global finance unit focused on clean technologies and innovation as part of its plans to expand into sustainable business, its chairman Carlos Torres said.

In a financial forum on sustainability, Torres said that a team of around 20 bankers based in New York, London, and Madrid will be created to offer loans and advice.

He did not specify how much the bank would invest in the new team.

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From Reuters:
Wells Fargo was sued on 29 February for allegedly not doing enough to help customers harmed from a fake accounts scandal.

"Wells Fargo relies on the inconspicuous and suspicious nature of the letter to depress claims rates, shifting the burden on the customer to take action to dispute an 'enrollment' that Wells Fargo knows to have been," the complaint, filed in a federal court in San Francisco, stated.

By shifting that burden, Wells Fargo tries "to avoid, reduce, and delay its ultimate liability and sweep under the rug its long-standing, intentional misconduct," the complaint added.

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From Bloomberg:
European banks need to improve their ability to manage the risks associated with dealing with clients such as hedge funds, a regulator from a European Central Bank said.

“There are some banks where we see major deficiencies, we don’t see remediation, we don’t see appropriate follow-through,” Elizabeth McCaul, a member of the European Central Bank’s Supervisory Board, said in a speech on 28 February. 

“Also, in general when I look at the whole portfolio across the board, there are still a few major areas, even the banks that are conducting remediation, where we do feel the banks need to step up their work in this area,” McCaul said.