Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway slashes stake in Wells Fargo

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc said on Friday it had cut its Wells Fargo & Co stake to 3.3%, further reducing what had once been a $32 billion investment in the bank.

WARREN BUFFETT'S BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY HAS ACQUIRED SLIGHTLY MORE THAN 5% OF THE SHARES IN FIVE LARGE JAPANESE COMPANIES

Berkshire said in a regulatory filing it owned about 137.6 million shares, worth $3.4 billion, of the fourth-largest U.S. bank by assets, down about 100 million from the end of June.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
BRK.A BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. 715,880.00 -8,160.00 -1.13%
BRK.B BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. 477.23 -5.85 -1.21%
WFC WELLS FARGO & CO. 75.28 -0.89 -1.17%

Buffett began investing in Wells Fargo in 1989, but has been reducing Berkshire's stake as the bank struggles to recover from a series of scandals over its treatment of customers, including the opening of accounts without their knowledge.

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Wells Fargo's ability to grow remains subject to a Federal Reserve limit. Moody's Investors Service on Wednesday lowered its rating outlook on the bank to "negative" from "stable", citing the bank's slower-than-expected ability to resolve governance and oversight issues from previous years.

CORONAVIRUS HAS WELLS FARGO TIGHTENING PURSE STRINGS

Berkshire still owns shares of several other banks, including Bank of America Corp, which became its largest common stock holding other than iPhone-maker Apple Inc,

Buffett's conglomerate also owns dozens of operating businesses including the BNSF railroad and Geico auto insurer.

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