Legal Aspects of International Trade & Enterprise

This report discusses the regulatory frameworks affecting the operations of Wells Fargo & Company in Australia and the impact of treaties and agreements on its products and services.

Running head: Legal Aspects of International Trade & Enterprise
Legal Aspects of International Trade & Enterprise

Legal Aspects of International Trade & Enterprise 1
Executive Summary
Wells Fargo & Company is a multinational company which provides financial services in
America. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California. It operates across 36 countries and
90 business. It has entered the Australian market through the purchase of GE Capital's
Commercial Distribution Finance (CDF).
There are certain national legal frameworks in Australia which make sure that trading
becomes fair for the customers and multinational companies(MNC) like Wells Fargo &
Company. Financial regulation in Australia is governed by the Australian Securities and
Investment Commission (ASIC) and the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA).
Additionally, the Australian Securities Exchange also plays a crucial role in controlling the
financial market. Australia has also entered into various treaties and agreements which
ensure that the various national organizations work efficiently for international commerce
through providing financial products and services.
So, this report draws the attention of the readers towards the regulatory frameworks affecting
the operations of Wells Fargo & Company. It shall discuss how and why they affect the
company. Furthermore, various treaties and conventions affecting the products and services
delivered by Wells Fargo & Company in Australia shall also be deliberated upon.

Legal Aspects of International Trade & Enterprise 2
Contents
Introduction to the company...............................................................................................................................3
Legislative regulatory frameworks affecting the operations of Wells Fargo & Company in Australia......3
Treaties, conventions or agreements that have impacted on the products or services delivered by
Wells Fargo & Company.....................................................................................................................................5
Conclusion............................................................................................................................................................7
References...........................................................................................................................................................8

Legal Aspects of International Trade & Enterprise 3
Introduction to the company
Wells Fargo & Company is a multinational company which provides financial services. It is
headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1852. It is the fourth largest
bank in the world in terms of market capitalization(Wells Fargo Commercial Distribution
Finance, 2019).
It provides diverse community based financial services with asset amounting to US$1.8
trillion. It has approximately 265,000 employees globally and operates in 36 countries. It
operates its commercial activities through its authorized and controlled affiliates in North
America, Asia Pacific and Europe (Wells Fargo, 2019).
It entered into the Australian market in 2016 through the purchase of segments of GE
Capital’s Commercial Distribution Finance (CDF) in Australia and New Zealand. The
company agreed to purchase the platforms of CDF, Vendor Finance along with the portions of
the Corporate Finance business of GE Capital( Wells Fargo Commercial Distribution Finance,
2019).
Legislative regulatory frameworks affecting the operations of Wells Fargo & Company in
Australia
The financial market in Australia is managed jointly by the Australian Securities and
Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA).
In addition to this, the Australian Securities Exchange plays a crucial role in managing the
operations of the financial market.
It is the responsibility of ASIC to protect the interests of the market and consumers. It
regulates the financial companies and investment banks. It also supervises the functions of
External Dispute Resolution Schemes(EDRs).
APRA is accountable for supervising the prudential and licensing norms of Authorized
Deposit-taking Institutions (ADIs), superannuation funds and life and general insurance
companies. The financial institutions regulated by APRA must report periodically to APRA
(Hunt and Terry, 2018).
The capital adequacy norms are being issued by APRA for banks which have consistency
with Basel II guidelines. However, the investment banks which does not operate as
Authorized Deposit-taking Institutions are neither regulated as per Banking Act nor are they
licensed under this act. They are also not prudentially supervised under APRA.

Legal Aspects of International Trade & Enterprise 4
The Reserve Bank of Australia has retained its banking function by managing the payment
systems and formulation of monetary policy. Moreover, the Australian Competition and
Consumer Commission (ACCC) controls the anti-competitive behavior of banks and financial
institutions.It has executed an agreement with ASIC that ASIC shall supervise the banking
and financial services institutions and service providers (Allen, 2015).
The Corporations Act 2001 regulates financial services by setting up a uniform disclosure and
licensing regime. An individual or a corporate executing a financial services business in
Australia must hold an Australian financial services license (AFSL) which is issued by ASIC.
Moreover, as per the Financial Transaction Reports Act 1988, banks making any electronic
fund transfers nationally or internationally have to report to Australian Transaction Reports or
Analysis Centre (Austrac). Under the Income Tax Assessment Act, 1936 and the Income Tax
Assessment Act 1997, the taxation rate for the national and multinational companies is 30%
(Deloitte, 2018).
The financial services business for which the AFSL is required comprises of details such as
dealing in financial products, formulating a market for a financial product, provision of advice,
providing depository or custodial services in the context of financial products and operating
registered managed investment scheme.
Now the question arises how and why these legislative frameworks affect the working of
Wells Fargo & Company in Australia. The role of APRA is to enforce and develop a prudential
framework of standards, guidelines and legislation which helps in promoting the prudential
behavior of ADIs, superannuation funds and insurance companies (Salim, Arjomandi and
Seufert, 2016).
Its major aim is to safeguard the interests of its policyholders, depositors and members of
superannuation funds. So in order to execute its role, it shall enhance the confidence of the
public through the formation of the prudential framework which equalizes the financial
efficiency, safety and competition.
It formulates a risk-based approach for supervising the commercial activities of Wells Fargo &
Company. It also implements its enforcement and remediation measures on the company in
order to make sure that its risk-bearing activities are conducted within reasonable limits. Its
risks should be clearly managed and identified.
On the other hand, the role of ASIC is to manage and regulate the integrated market,
corporate, financial services and consumer credit in the Australian financial market. It is
required to assist in maintaining, facilitating and improving the financial system of Wells Fargo
& Company(ASIC, 2019).
Furthermore, it ensures that Wells Fargo & Company meet the standards which shall also
comprise of their responsibilities towards their consumers. These responsibilities are listed in
the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009. As a marker regulator, it analyzes how

Legal Aspects of International Trade & Enterprise 5
efficiently the company is complying with its legal commitments in order to operate fairly and
transparently in the market.
The answer to why ASIC and APRA affect the commercial affairs of the company is that their
mission is to seek innovation which fosters the confidence and trust amongst the consumers.
Their major challenge is to ensure that the financial entity operates in a fair and orderly
manner in the transparent markets( Gitman, Juchau and Flanagan, 2015).
In this era, the financial technology is emerging rapidly and seeking to provide newer ways of
sharing and creating values for the consumers. The motto of ASIC and APRA is to provide
offerings which are demand driven. Thus the services must put the interests of the consumers
at the core along with embedding their interests into the commercial operations of the
company.
It also calls for designing financial products and services in a responsible manner. In order to
promote positive outcomes of the consumers, the company has greater responsibility
pertaining to the targeted distribution of its products.It would help in strengthening the
confidence and trust amongst the consumers along with reducing the cases where the
behavior of consumers and imbalances of information is disregarded (Pukała, Vnukova and
Achkasova, 2017).
Thus ASIC and APRA ensure that Wells Fargo & Company has a consumer-centric focus. Its
products must be designed to provide utility for the target consumers. Likewise, the
consumers must have access to the financial products and services which would meet their
needs. It has also been instructed to the company that when the products and services are
sold to the consumers, they should also be informed about the associated level of risk.
Treaties, conventions or agreements that have impacted on the products or services
delivered by Wells Fargo & Company
The financial regulators in Australia participate in various formal and informal cooperative
arrangements which make sure that the financial market works effectively for global
commerce. The Australian Securities Commission (ASC) has arranged with other
international securities regulators for developing the policies and gathering of evidence and
enforcement with the help of working parties of International Organization of Securities
Commissions (IOSCO).
In Australia, the legislative assistant for this cooperation is generated by the Mutual
Assistance in Business Regulation Act 1992 (Cth). This has assisted ASC and ACCC for
obtaining the evidence on behalf of the international regulators. The informal evidence and
information sharing arrangements amongst the various foreign securities regulators are called
Memoranda of Understanding (MOU).

Legal Aspects of International Trade & Enterprise 6
Additionally, Australia has a wide network of tax treaties with its OECD member countries.
These treaties help the multinationals such as Wells Fargo & Company by providing them
relief from double taxation on their income. Australia meets its compliances under the taxation
treaties by assimilating these laws into its domestic regulations.
Each of its treaties is applicable domestically as per the International Tax Agreements Act
1953 (ITA Act) and its provisions override any inconsistent provisions under the national law.
So, inconsistency with the self-assessment regime of Australia, Wells Fargo & Company is
not required to obtain a certificate of residence or any other certification for obtaining the
benefits of the treaty.
Furthermore, Australia has also entered into the Australia –United States Free Trade
Agreement(AUSFTA) which is a preferential trade agreement amongst Australia and United
States. The provisos of the agreement are consistent with the applicable sections of General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 and the General Agreement on Trade in
Services(GATS).
Section 10 of FTA gives clarity to the meaning of ‘cross –border trade in services'. It provides
a free environment for the suppliers of services to operate their business. So in accordance
with this section, Wells Fargo & Company can operate its business freely in Australia. This
proviso requires Australia to give national or most-favored-nation treatment to Wells Fargo &
Company and prohibits any limitations to access in the market or transfers (Hundt, 2015).
Besides this, the investment chapter of FTA clearly defines the various aspects of
investments which are covered in the treaty.It also gives cross –border investors an
assurance so that they can invest safely in the other country. Apart from this, it clearly
prohibits Australia from restricting or enforcing each of the following requirements relating to
the investments in its region to Wells Fargo & Company.
It cannot order Wells Fargo & Company to export a certain level of services or products. The
company cannot be asked to accomplish a certain level of domestic content along with the
purchase, use or grant a preference to the services produced in its territory. It cannot be
asked to acquire the goods from individuals in its territory (Titi,2015).
The company cannot be asked to restrict its sales in the territory of Australia so that the
investment produces or supplies can be correlated to the value of exports or foreign
exchange earnings. Moreover, the value of imports cannot be related to that of the exports or
foreign exchange earnings-related to the investment.
The company cannot be restricted from transferring the technology, process, knowledge to a
person of its territory. It cannot be restricted to supply goods or services which are produced
or supplied by the investment to a particular regional market or the international market
(Alschner and Skougarevskiy, 2016).

Legal Aspects of International Trade & Enterprise 7
It is also concerned with providing a nondiscriminatory environment in the context of financial
services. The Financial Services can be defined as all the services related to insurance,
financial and other banking services along with the services which are ancillary or incidental
to the services of financial nature.
It lays down the regulations applicable for the financial institutions which are located in the
territory of Australia and managed by the individuals in the other country such as Wells Fargo
& Company in this case. It is also associated with the investors of the other party who have
invested in the financial institutions located in that party (Nottage, 2014).
So, Chapter 13 of FTA requires every party to grant a national treatment and most-favored-
nation treatment to the investors, financial institution and investment of investors of the other
party. National treatment pertains to a treatment which is not less favorable than a party
grants to its own financial institutions, investors along with the investment of its own investors
in the financial institutions.
Thus the concept of national treatment and most-favored-nations are applicable to the
formation, acquisition, expansion, conduct, management and sale of Wells Fargo & Company
or the investments in the Wells Fargo & Company in the territory of Australia. Moreover,
Article 13.5.2 states that each of the parties is permitted to purchase financial services from
suppliers of the other party which are situated in the territory of another party (the U.S.A. in
this case).
Lastly, this chapter does not prevent Wells Fargo & Company from taking appropriate actions
required for securing the compliance with the legislation not inconsistent with the chapter. But
it should be done in such a way so that it does not create unjustifiable discrimination among
both these countries where such conditions prevail. Also, it should not restrict the investments
in Wells Fargo & Company or international trade in the financial services (Tully, 2016).
Conclusion
Hence to conclude, it can be said that the objective of these legislative frameworks and
treaties is to establish a developed framework so that the investment flows can be well
administrated between Australia and other countries. These shall compliment with the
negotiations done by Australia with its fellow OECD members in terms of trade in services
and goods.
The treaties seek for opportunities to reduce the unnecessary barriers imposed by the other
countries on the investors in Australia in terms of licensing requirements and other related
legislation. They also ensure that the negotiations are made in light of the foreign investment
policy of Australia.

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Legal Aspects of International Trade & Enterprise 9
References
Allen, H.J.( 2015) Putting the Financial Stability in Financial Stability Oversight Council. Ohio
St. LJ. 76(2015), p.1087.
Alschner, W. and Skougarevskiy, D.(2016) Mapping the universe of international investment
agreements. Journal of international economic law. 19(3), pp.561-588.
ASIC (2015)Financial innovation: ASIC’s role and how it affects you[online]. Available from:
https://download.asic.gov.au/media/3225872/speech-to-financial-innovation-symposium-
published-5-may-2015.pdf [Accessed 23rd April 2019].
ASIC (2019)Our role [online]. Available from: https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/what-we-do/our-
role/ [Accessed 23rd April 2019].
Deloitte(2018) Taxation and Investment in Australia 2018 [online]. Available from:
https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/Tax/dttl-tax-australiaguide-
2018.pdf [Accessed 24th April 2019].
Gitman, L.J., Juchau, R. and Flanagan, J.( 2015) Principles of managerial finance. Australia :
Pearson Higher Education AU. Pp. 1-50.
Hundt, D.( 2015) Free trade agreements and US foreign policy. Pacific Focus. 30(2), pp.151-
172.
Hunt, B. and Terry, C.( 2018) Financial institutions and markets. Australia : Cengage AU. Pp.
1-10.
Nottage, L.R.(2014) Investor-State Arbitration: Not in the Australia-Japan Free Trade
Agreement, and Not Ever for Australia?. Journal of Japanese Law.19(38), pp.37-52.
Pukała, R., Vnukova, N. and Achkasova, S.( 2017) Identification of the priority instruments
affecting regulations on the development of insurance in the framework of international
requirements. Journal of Insurance, Financial Markets and Consumer Protection. 23(1),
p.2017.
Salim, R., Arjomandi, A. and Seufert, J.H.( 2016) Does corporate governance affect
Australian banks' performance?. Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and
Money. 43(2016), pp.113-125.
Titi, C.(2015) International investment law and the European Union: towards a new
generation of international investment agreements. European Journal of International
Law. 26(3), pp.639-661.

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Tully, S.R.(2016) Free Trade Agreements with the United States: 8 Lessons for Prospective
Parties from Australia’s Experience. British Journal of American Legal Studies. 5(2), pp.395-
418.
Wells Fargo (2019) Locations and Contacts for Companies Doing Business Internationally
[online]. Available from: https://www.wellsfargo.com/com/international/locations/businesses/
[Accessed 23rd April 2019].
Wells Fargo Commercial Distribution Finance(2019) Region [online]. Available from:
https://cdf.wf.com/australia/ [Accessed 23rd April 2019].
Wells Fargo Commercial Distribution Finance(2019)Wells Fargo completes acquisition of GE
Capital’s Commercial Distribution Finance Business in Australia and New Zealand [online].
Available from: https://cdf.wf.com/wells-fargo-completes-acquisition-ge-capitals-commercial-
distribution-finance-business-australia-new-zealand/ [Accessed 23rd April 2019].