Wells Fargo reports higher fourth-quarter profit

Wells Fargo & Co on Friday reported a higher fourth-quarter profit as the bank set aside less money to cover bad loans and made more fees from mortgages.

The fourth-biggest U.S. bank said net income was $5.1 billion, or 91 cents a share, compared with $4.1 billion, or 73 cents a share, in the same period a year earlier.

The latest results included a previously announced pre-tax charge of $644 million for Wells Fargo's share of an $8.5 billion settlement that ends a U.S. government-mandated review of financial crisis-era foreclosures. [ID: nL1E9C73TJ] (Reporting By Rick Rothacker in Charlotte, North Carolina; editing by John Wallace)