Wells Fargo Co

The chairman of Wells Fargo & Co.'s consumer finance arm, which ran afoul of California regulators and consumer groups this year, said he was quitting for personal reasons. Dan Porter, 47, said that after 3 1/2 years at Des Moines-based Wells Fargo Financial, he had revitalized the business and that he wanted "a better balance in my life." Wells Fargo Financial repaid 15,000 borrowers in January when regulators found small overcharges on personal loans.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the insurance holding company controlled by billionaire Warren Buffett, said it sold 300,000 Wells Fargo & Co. shares, reducing its stake to 7.82% of outstanding stock. Shares of San Francisco-based Wells fell $14.125 to close at $265.50 on the New York Stock Exchange--the biggest one-day drop since October 1995. Berkshire held 6.99 million Wells shares as of March 31. On Dec. 31, it held 7.29 million, or 8.15% of outstanding shares. Berkshire declined to comment.

Wells Fargo & Co. said it named Chief Financial Officer Rod Jacobs president, filling a post vacated last year by William Zuendt. Jacobs, 57, will join the San Francisco-based bank company's board as the only management director other than Chairman and Chief Executive Paul Hazen. Jacobs, who joined Wells in 1979 as a financial analyst, will continue to supervise finance, computer operations and other administrative functions, reporting to Hazen.

A California appeals court reinstated a class-action lawsuit brought against Wells Fargo & Co. by customers who argued that the San Francisco-based bank didn't adequately disclose overdraft fees for check cards. The appeals court in San Diego overruled a trial court that had dismissed the lawsuit after siding with Wells Fargo's argument that the claims were preempted by federal banking laws.

Bank of New York Co. and its BNY Western Trust Co. affiliate have agreed to acquire the corporate and municipal bond administration business of Wells Fargo & Co. for an undisclosed amount, the New York bank said. The acquisition involves more than $85 billion in outstanding securities for municipal and corporate issuers, primarily in the West. Client services would be provided through BNY Western, of Los Angeles. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 1997.