Legal Aspects of International Trade & Enterprise

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.