Company: WSBC
Filing Date: 2025-03-03
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000950170-25-030795
Chunk: 22

Company: WESBANCO INC
Filing Date: 2025-03-03
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 22
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 Regulation Best Interest, which establishes a standard of conduct for broker-dealers when they make a recommendation to a retail customer of any securities transaction or investment strategy involving securities.  Regulation Best Interest enhances the broker-dealer standard of conduct beyond existing suitability obligations, and aligns the standard of conduct with retail customers’ reasonable expectations by requiring broker-dealers, among other things, to: act in the best interest of the retail customer at the time the recommendation is made, without placing the financial or other interest of the broker-dealer ahead of the interests of the retail customer; and address conflicts of interest by establishing, maintaining, and enforcing policies and procedures reasonably designed to identify and fully and fairly disclose material facts about conflicts of interest, and in instances where we have determined that disclosure is insufficient to reasonably address the conflict, to mitigate or, in certain instances, eliminate the conflict.  The effective date for implementation of the new rule was June 30, 2020.

On December 22, 2020, the SEC adopted a new rule to govern investment adviser advertisements and payments to solicitors.  The rule replaces the current advertising rule’s broadly drawn limitations with principles-based provisions designed to accommodate the continual evolution and interplay of technology and advice, and includes tailored requirements for certain types of advertisements. For example, the rule requires advisers to standardize certain parts of a performance presentation in order to help investors evaluate and compare investment opportunities, and includes tailored requirements for certain types of performance presentations. Advertisements that include third-party ratings are required to include specific disclosures to prevent them from being misleading. The rule also permits the use of testimonials and endorsements, which include traditional referral and solicitation activity, subject to certain conditions.

THE USA PATRIOT AND BANK SECRECY ACT

The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 (the “USA Patriot Act”) imposes significant compliance and due diligence obligations, material penalties, and provides for extra-territorial jurisdiction of the United States. The U.S. Treasury Department has issued various implementing regulations, which apply certain requirements of the USA Patriot Act to financial institutions, such as Wesbanco Bank and Wesbanco’s broker-dealer subsidiary. These regulations impose obligations on financial institutions to maintain appropriate policies, procedures and controls to detect, prevent and report money laundering and terrorist financing, to verify the identity of their customers, including beneficial owners, and to report suspicious activities and currency transactions of a certain size. Failure of Wesbanco and its subsidiaries to maintain and implement adequate programs to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, or to