The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday said a pair of Wells Fargo Advisory firms and Merrill Lynch have agreed to pay a combined $60 million in civil penalties to settle charges over compliance failures.

Advisory clients’ uninvested dollars were automatically swept into bank accounts that paid paltry interest, but were profitable for the companies, the SEC said.

Three former Wells Fargo executives must pay $18.5 million for their role in the bank’s widespread fake sales accounts scandal that came to light nearly a decade ago.

Regulators took the wirehouses to task for not having policies directing advisors to consider clients' best interests.