Wells Fargo Weighs Debut Risk Transfer as Banks Shore Up Capital

Wells Fargo & Co. is looking at essentially buying insurance on some of the loans in its portfolio using a transaction known as a synthetic risk transfer, potentially becoming the latest big bank to use the product to cope with looming capital rules.

The San Francisco-based lender is in early discussions for an SRT tied to a portfolio of subscription lines, a type of credit extended to private equity funds, according to people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be named as the details aren’t public. Conversations are preliminary and details of the financing may change, they ...