AmEx Executive Suspended Over Probe -- WSJ
January 09 2019 - 2:02AM
Dow Jones News
By AnnaMaria Andriotis
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (January 9, 2019).
American Express Co. suspended a director in its
foreign-exchange department as part of its ongoing investigation
into pricing practices in the division, according to people
familiar with the matter.
Foreign-exchange employees were informed last month on a company
call that the director, Taylor Simonin, was suspended, the people
said. Mr. Simonin oversaw account development staff who help
foreign-exchange salespeople and assist clients with currency
conversions, they said.
Mr. Simonin didn't respond to requests for comment. A
spokeswoman for AmEx said the company's investigation is
ongoing.
In July, The Wall Street Journal, citing current and former
employees, reported that AmEx's foreign-exchange international
payments department routinely increased currency-conversion rates
without notifying customers in order to boost revenue and employee
commissions. The practice occurred until early 2018 and dated back
to at least 2004, current and former employees told the
Journal.
"Using our online portal, customers see our offered foreign
exchange rates before they place an order," said AmEx's
spokeswoman, Marina Norville. "They're given time to make a
decision, which also gives them an opportunity to compare our
offered all-in rates with the rates offered by other
providers."
AmEx's foreign-exchange business, which largely serves small and
midsize businesses, accounts for less than half of a percentage
point of the company's total revenue.
In September, the Journal reported that the Federal Bureau of
Investigation was investigating AmEx's foreign-exchange pricing
practices to determine whether the company misrepresented pricing
to clients in order to win their business. The Journal also
reported that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency also
was looking into how AmEx disclosed pricing to customers.
AmEx disclosed in an October regulatory filing that it received
investigative subpoenas from the civil and criminal divisions of
the Justice Department and inquiries from the Federal Reserve, the
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the OCC and the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation.
In the filing, AmEx said it doesn't believe "this matter will
have a material adverse impact on [its] operations or results."
Write to AnnaMaria Andriotis at annamaria.andriotis@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 09, 2019 02:47 ET (07:47 GMT)
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