Warren Buffett is dumping 9 million shares of Wells Fargo to avoid Federal Reserve regulations

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April 12, 2017 11:22 PM

Berkshire said that owning more than 10% of Wells Fargo was more regulatory trouble than it was worth.

Berkshire Hathaway is dumping 9 million shares of Wells Fargo worth around $480 million in order to get around possible Federal Reserve regulations.

Warren Buffett's company owned more than 10% of the bank after Wells repurchased a large chunk of its shares in 2016. Any entity owning more than 10% of a bank like Wells is subject to increased regulation from the Fed.

"These sales are not being made because of investment or valuation considerations," said the release of Berkshire. "Rather they are solely motivated by the desire to return to a percentage ownership below the 10% notification threshold under the Change in Bank Control Act of 1978 and Regulation Y (Bank Holding Companies and Change in Bank Control).

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