Wells Fargo Breaks Sharply With Industry as Its Legal Risk Rises

By Laura J. Keller, Bloomberg News

Wells Fargo & Co. is signaling like never before that legal costs might surge, just as U.S. rivals say they’re exiting an era of probes and litigation that cut profits for years.

On Friday, Wells Fargo provided a quarterly list of inquiries and lawsuits it faces, and updated an estimate of “reasonably possible” losses from such cases. The firm said it might ultimately need to spend as much as $3.3 billion more than what it already set aside. That’s a record level for the San Francisco-based company, and 65 percent higher than the danger ...