Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Wells Fargo to Pay $3.7B Over Consumer Law Violations
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 1 year ago on
December 20, 2022

Share

Consumer banking giant Wells Fargo agreed to pay $3.7 billion to settle charges that it harmed customers by charging illegal fees and interest on auto loans and mortgages, as well as incorrectly applying overdraft fees against savings and checking accounts.

Wells was ordered to repay $2 billion to consumers by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which also enacted a $1.7 billion penalty against the San Francisco bank Tuesday. It’s the largest fine ever leveled against a bank by the CFPB and the largest yet against Wells, which has spent years trying to rehabilitate its image after a series of scandals tied to its sales practices.

Regulators made it clear, however, that they believe Wells Fargo has further to go on that front.

“Put simply: Wells Fargo is a corporate recidivist that puts one out of three Americans at risk for potential harm,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra, in a call with reporters.

The bank’s pattern of behavior has made it necessary for regulators to take additional actions against Wells Fargo that go beyond the $3.7 billion in fines and penalties, Chopra said.

The violations impacted more than 16 million customers, the bureau said. In addition to improperly charging auto loan customers with fees and interest, the bank wrongfully repossessed vehicles in some cases. The bank also improperly denied thousands of mortgage loan modifications for homeowners.

Wells Fargo has been sanctioned repeatedly by U.S. regulators for violations of consumer protection laws going back to 2016, when employees were found to have opened millions of accounts illegally in order to meet unrealistic sales goals. Since then, executives have repeatedly said Wells is cleaning up its act, only for the bank to be found in violation of other parts of consumer protection law, including in its auto and mortgage lending businesses.

Wells paid a $1 billion penalty in 2018 for widespread consumer law violations, the largest against a bank for such violations at the time.

The bank had signaled to its investors that it anticipated additional fines and penalties from regulators and aside $2 billion in the third quarter for that reason.

Wells remains under a Federal Reserve order forbidding the bank from growing any larger until the Fed deems that its problems are resolved. That order, originally enacted in 2018, was expected to last only a year or two.

CEO Charles Scharf said in a prepared statement Tuesday that the agreement with the CFPB is part of an effort to “transform operating practices at Wells Fargo and to put these issues behind us.”

While Wells Fargo tried to frame the agreement with the CFPB as a resolution of established bad behavior, CFPB officials said some of the violations cited in Tuesday’s order took place this year.

“This should not been seen as Wells Fargo has moved past its problems,” Chopra said.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne Johnson Pledged $10M for Maui Wildfire Survivors. They Gave Much More.

DON'T MISS

Did Fresno Unified’s Biggest Contractor Not Pay Its Workers? Company Still Gets Millions After Civil Penalty

DON'T MISS

Biden Marks Earth Day by Going After GOP, Announcing $7 Billion in Federal Solar Power Grants

DON'T MISS

Fresno Unified Says It Has No Superintendent Succession Plan Despite HR Leader’s Claim

DON'T MISS

Work Starts on Bullet Train Line From Las Vegas to LA

DON'T MISS

Trustees to Vote on New Fresno High Gym, Bullard Security Fence. Who Were the Low Bidders?

DON'T MISS

Will CA Lawmakers Crack Down on Spending by Utility Companies?

DON'T MISS

Supreme Court Will Take Up the Legal Fight Over Ghost Guns, Firearms Without Serial Numbers

DON'T MISS

Express Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection, Announces Store Closures

DON'T MISS

Will There Be a Third Measure E? What Richard Spencer Says.

UP NEXT

Express Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection, Announces Store Closures

UP NEXT

Man Sets Himself on Fire Outside Trump Hush Money Trial Court

UP NEXT

Who Owns Businesses in California? A Lawmaker Wants the Public to Know

UP NEXT

Did City Council Finally Give New NW Fresno Costco a Green Light?

UP NEXT

Biden Pledges to Block Japanese Takeover of US Steel and Promises Tariffs on Chinese Steel

UP NEXT

Southern California City Council Gives Key Approval for Disneyland Expansion Plan

UP NEXT

Tesla Wants Shareholders to Reinstate CEO Elon Musk’s $56 Billion Pay Package

UP NEXT

Boeing in the Spotlight as Congress Calls a Whistleblower to Testify About Defects in Planes

UP NEXT

Acquisition of Historic Fresno Real Estate Brand Creates Area’s Largest Brokerage

UP NEXT

Costco Tries Again at City Council for Big NW Fresno Move

Fresno Unified Says It Has No Superintendent Succession Plan Despite HR Leader’s Claim

14 hours ago

Work Starts on Bullet Train Line From Las Vegas to LA

15 hours ago

Trustees to Vote on New Fresno High Gym, Bullard Security Fence. Who Were the Low Bidders?

Local Education /

16 hours ago

Will CA Lawmakers Crack Down on Spending by Utility Companies?

16 hours ago

Supreme Court Will Take Up the Legal Fight Over Ghost Guns, Firearms Without Serial Numbers

16 hours ago

Express Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection, Announces Store Closures

17 hours ago

Will There Be a Third Measure E? What Richard Spencer Says.

17 hours ago

Melvin and Matzah: Giants Manager Recalls Childhood Passover

18 hours ago

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass Safe After Suspect Breaks Into Official Residence, Police Say

18 hours ago

Newsom Wants to Make It Easier for Arizona Women to Get a California Abortion

18 hours ago

Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne Johnson Pledged $10M for Maui Wildfire Survivors. They Gave Much More.

Lana Vierra misses the swing set at her Lahaina home, which was reduced to ashes in the wildfires that swept through her community last summ...

12 hours ago

12 hours ago

Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne Johnson Pledged $10M for Maui Wildfire Survivors. They Gave Much More.

13 hours ago

Did Fresno Unified’s Biggest Contractor Not Pay Its Workers? Company Still Gets Millions After Civil Penalty

14 hours ago

Biden Marks Earth Day by Going After GOP, Announcing $7 Billion in Federal Solar Power Grants

14 hours ago

Fresno Unified Says It Has No Superintendent Succession Plan Despite HR Leader’s Claim

15 hours ago

Work Starts on Bullet Train Line From Las Vegas to LA

Local Education /
16 hours ago

Trustees to Vote on New Fresno High Gym, Bullard Security Fence. Who Were the Low Bidders?

16 hours ago

Will CA Lawmakers Crack Down on Spending by Utility Companies?

16 hours ago

Supreme Court Will Take Up the Legal Fight Over Ghost Guns, Firearms Without Serial Numbers

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend