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Date | Event |
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Pre-1998 | Richard Kovacevich, CEO of Norwest Corp. instigates a cross-selling strategy • Mortgages, checking and savings accounts, and credit cards are akin to typical consumer products, branch employees are "salespeople", and consumers are "customers" rather than "clients". • Under Kovacevich, Norwest encouraged branch employees to sell at least eight products in an initiative known as "Going for Gr-Eight". |
Nov 2, 1998 | Norwest acquires Wells Fargo, but retains the Wells Fargo name. • Richard Kovacevich remains President & CEO of the combined companies. |
2004 | An internal Wells Fargo report about practices that may encourage employees to create fake accounts is issued. |
Jun 1, 2007 | John Stumpf becomes CEO of Wells Fargo • John Stumpf came from Norwest Bank having spent his whole career there, starting at the bottom as a loan administrator, and is steeped in its culture. |
Jan 1, 2010 | John Stumpf also becomes COB of Wells Fargo |
Jun 30, 2010 | The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issues Bulletin 2010-24 - Incentive Compensation: Interagency Guidance on Sound Incentive Compensation Policies. • Banks must monitor incentive-based compensation structures; balancing appropriate risk and rewards, be compatible with effective controls and risk management, and supported by effective corporate governance. |
Feb 28, 2011 | Early Wall Street Journal article on Wells Fargo's cross selling strategy and other banks. |
Dec 21, 2013 | A Los Angeles Times investigation reveals possible cross-selling issues at Wells Fargo. • There is intense pressure on bank managers and individual bankers to produce sales against extremely aggressive and even mathematically impossible quotas. • CFO Timothy Sloan was quoted as stating that he is unaware of any "...overbearing sales culture." |
2015 & Earlier | Like most banks, Wells Fargo had privately been disciplined and addressed issues raised by its governing bodies through the years, including pertinent ones to the later scandal that included • Federal Reserve issued a Memorandum of Understanding in 2013 to address risk management and internal control deficiencies (later superseded by a supervisory letter). • The OCC investigated Wells Fargo's sales practices, including the "Going for Gr-Eight" program. • The OCC issued a supervisory letter in June, 2015 with five MRA, including one on handling complaints. • The OCC issued a non-public enforcement action requiring Wells Fargo to submit a plan to address the Bank's compliance risk management program. |
May 4, 2015 | Prompted by the Los Angeles Times investigation, Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer files a lawsuit in civil court after starting his own probe into the matter. • The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the OCC also get involved (the final report will not be revealed until over a year later). |
May 14, 2015 | Jabbari v. Wells Fargo • Shahriar Jabbari files a suit in the United States District Court of Northern California alleging that Wells Fargo opened unauthorized accounts in Jabbari's name and others. • The unauthorized accounts were opened to victimize its customers by using illegal, fraudulent, and deceptive tactics to boost sales of its banking and financial products. • Those unauthorized accounts would accumulate unpaid fees, which would cause creditors to seek payment; and then Wells Fargo would offer or automatically enroll the customer in credit-protection services to collect more fees. • The suit sought class action status. |
Jun 3, 2015 | The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issues a consent order related to Wells Fargo sales of add-on products for identity theft protection, credit protection, and related products. |
Nov 19, 2015 | The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issues a consent order related to Wells Fargo failures in the Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) compliance program. • Wells Fargo had failed to make progress on previously identified issues. • Identified critical internal control deficiencies. |
Jul 12, 2016 | Wells Fargo announce that Carrie Tolstedt, the company's head of Community Banking, will retire at year's end. • Effective July 31, she will be succeeded by Mary Mack, who currently serves as president and head of Wells Fargo Advisors, the company's national retail brokerage. • Although the reason for her retirement is not revealed, it almost assuredly arose from the lawsuit filed by the City of Los Angeles, CFPB, and the OCC. |
Aug 20, 2016 | The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau August 20, 2016 Student Loan Consent Order • The CFPB issue consent order that charge Wells Fargo for student loan abuses: - Maximizing fees, misleading borrowers, and charging late fees even when consumers made timely payments. - Failure to update and correct credit inaccurate information reported to credit reporting companies. • The CFPB orders Wells Fargo to provide $410,000 in relief to borrowers and fines them $3.6 million. |
Sep 8, 2016 | The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency September 8, 2016 Sales Practices Consent Orders • Along with the City of Los Angeles City, the CFPB and OCC issue coordinated consent orders that charges Wells Fargo with fraud. - From January 1, 2011 to September 8, 2016, thousands of Wells Fargo employees opened more than 1.5 million checking and savings accounts, and 500,000 credit cards on behalf of their customers, without their consent. - This was done in order to meet aggressive incentive compensation program that encouraged employees to cross-sell banking products and services to existing customers. • Both Consent Orders' requirements plans are very similar (although may differ in the details): - Requires Wells Fargo to retain an independent consultant to review its sales practices, governance and risk management; compliance with federal consumer financial law; internal audit procedures; and handling of consumer and employee complaints. - Requires Wells Fargo to submit a plan to provide redress to harmed consumers; and a separate plan to implement recommendations of the independent consultants, the monitoring of sales practices, and all requirements of the consent orders (the Comprehensive Action Plan). - The CFPB and the OCC must approve the plans. - Both Consent Orders contain provisions establishing that the Bank's Board of Directors are responsible for satisfying the orders' requirements including them to review and approve all submissions required. • Wells Fargo was fined a total $185 million: $100 million from the CFPB, $50 million from the City of LA, & $35 million from the OCC; as well as agreeing to refund $5 million to customers. • Wells Fargo committed to sending customers a confirming email within one hour of opening any deposit account, and sending an application acknowledgement, and decision status letter after submitting an application for a credit card. • Wells Fargo also fired employees involved, leading to about 5,300 or 1% of its workforce being let go. • Despite this, Carrie Tolstedt, who headed the department and retired in July 2016, still received $124.6 million in stock, options, and restricted shares as part of her compensation package. |
Sep 13, 2016 | Wells Fargo announced that it would be ending its controversial employee sales goals program effective January 1, 2017. • John Stumpf appears on CNBC, where he rebuffs suggestions that he resign. |
Sep 14, 2016 | The FBI and federal prosecutors in New York and California announced that they were probing the bank over the alleged misconduct, a development that opened the possibility of criminal charges. • Department of Justice issues subpoenas related to the fake account scandal. |
Sep 16, 2021 | The House of Representative's Financial Services Committee opens an investigation into the bank's alleged misconduct as well as the role of Washington regulators in monitoring and investigating the alleged misconduct. • A letter sent to the bank's general counsel asked him to make four senior executives available for transcribed interviews, including Carrie Tolstedt, the Community Bank head who oversaw the consumers affected. |
Sep 20, 2016 | Stumpf appears in front of the Senate Banking Committee, where Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, calls on him to resign and says he should face criminal charges. • Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, says Stumpf would be engaging in "malpractice" if the bank didn't "claw back" money that it had paid to executives during the period that the accounts were being opened without customers' permission. |
Sep 22, 2016 | CEO John Stumpf resigns from his position on the Federal Advisory Council, which meets with the Federal Reserve four times a year to advise it on banking and economic issues. A group of Senate Democrats asked the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to open an investigation into whether Wells Fargo violated the Fair Labor Standards Act. • The DOL acknowledged receipt of the letter and a spokesman advises that they cannot discuss details of potential law enforcement decision-making, they take the concerns very seriously. Two former Wells Fargo employees, Alexander Polonsky and Brian Zaghi, file a lawsuit in California Superior Court against the bank relating to the accounts scandal seeking class-action status for the lawsuit. • The suit seeks to represent current and former employees who worked for the bank during the last 10 years and who were demoted, forced to resign, or terminated for not meeting impossible quotas the bank set as goals. |
Sep 23, 2016 | In a letter, six senators slam Wells Fargo for its use of forced arbitration clauses in its customer account agreements, which the senators say enabled the company to keep its accounts scandal out of the public eye and the courts for years. • The letter asked CEO John Stumpf to provide information so that they can better understand the situation at Wells Fargo and prevent similar fraudulent practices in the future. |
Sep 26, 2016 | Wells Fargo officials respond to the former employee lawsuit in that they disagree with the allegations and will vigorously defend against the misrepresentations it contains about Wells Fargo and team members who do the right thing by customers every day. A Wells Fargo customer, Gary Hefler, files a lawsuit alleging that Wells Fargo violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. • Alleges that Wells Fargo repeatedly misrepresented and omitted information related to its cross-selling business model, thereby artificially inflating Wells Fargo's stock price. • Seeks class action and Hefler v Wells Fargo will be merged with several similar lawsuits over time. |
Sep 27, 2016 | The Wells Fargo's independent directors announced that CEO John Stumpf will forgo $41 million worth of unvested equity awards, his 2016 bonus, as well as his usual salary as they launch an independent investigation. The directors also announced that Carrie Tolstedt who had previously announced her retirement, has been terminated. • She will not receive a bonus for 2016, will not receive severance pay, and will forgo promised share compensation worth about $19 million. The bank moves up the date that it will end its controversial sales program from January 1, 2017 to October 1, 2016. |
Sep 28, 2016 | DOJ accuses Wells Fargo of illegally repossessing service members' cars. • The DOJ claims the bank took 413 cars without a court order, which violates federal law. • They failed to tell courts the borrowers were on active-duty when it asked for evictions. • They also failed to limit interest rates to 6% as is required by law. • The company agrees to pay $24 million to settle charges, apologizes, and commit to $10 million in refunds. |
Sep 29, 2016 | John Stumpf returns to Capitol Hill, for a very contentious and confrontational hearing with many calling for him to resign. • The committee chairman, Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, opened by saying: "Fraud is fraud. Theft is theft. And what happened at Wells Fargo over the course of many years cannot be described any other way." • The hearing lasted for more than four hours, with Republicans and Democrats lambasting Stumpf, who is accused of running "a criminal enterprise." Wells Fargo promises to abandon unrealistic sales goals. |
Oct 3, 2016 | The scandal begins to enter the presidential election when Hillary Clinton called out the company during a campaign stop in Toledo, Ohio. |
Oct 5, 2016 | Fourteen senators send a letter to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch urging the Justice Department to thoroughly investigate the culpability of senior executives at Wells Fargo. • The letter suggests that the investigation of senior executives is needed in order to reassure Americans that wealthy corporate leaders cannot purchase a higher class of justice for themselves. • The senators accuse government regulators of settling for a penalty from Wells Fargo that will be borne by the bank's shareholders and not its executives. |
Oct 12, 2016 | CEO & COB John Stumpf announces that he will retire effective immediately, amidst the controversies involving his company. President and Chief Operating Officer Timothy J. Sloan (an employee of the company for 29 years) will succeed as CEO, effective immediately. • He retains the President role and is elected to the Board of Directors. Stephen Sanger, Lead Director, takes over as Chairman of the Board. The Better Business Bureau drops accreditation of the bank; S&P Global Ratings lowered its outlook for Wells Fargo from stable to negative; and several states and cities across the U.S. end business relations with the company. |
Oct 14, 2016 | The Federal Reserve issues a report of inspection covering its supervision of Wells Fargo from 2015 to March 2016 to Wells Fargo's BOD (apparently not a public record, but per a House Financial Committee Report). • The Federal Reserve made an assessment for five risk types: Credit Risk, Market Risk - Trading, Market Risk - Banking Book Interest Rate Risk, Operational Risk, and Legal & Compliance Risk. • The Federal Reserve also downgrades Board and Senior Management Oversight, one of the four subcomponents of the Federal Reserve's risk management component rating. |
Oct 19, 2016 | California Attorney General Kamala Harris launches a criminal investigation into whether Wells Fargo employees committed false impersonation and identity theft as part of the accounts scandal. • A search warrant requests documents and data related to bank products and services that have been identified as being created or issued for the customer without the customer's consent from May 2011 to July 2015. |
Oct 24, 2016 | Wells Fargo begins running television advertisements, to complement an ad campaign running in other media, in an effort to restore trust in its brand. |
Nov 3, 2016 | The bank discloses in regulatory filings that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was investigating its sales practices. • The bank says that formal and informal inquiries, investigations or examinations were being undertaken by agencies such as the U.S. Department of Justice, congressional committees, the SEC, California state prosecutors and attorneys general. |
Dec 1, 2016 | Wells Fargo announces that its Board of Directors has amended the Company's By-Laws to require the separation of the COB and CEO roles; and for the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Board to be independent directors. |
Jan, 2017 | At some point in January, Wells Fargo creates the Office of Ethics, Oversight, and Integrity (later called the Conduct Management Office). • Combines the existing sales practices oversight, global ethics and integrity program, complaints oversight, and internal investigations groups to organize, coordinate and enhance enterprise-wide conduct risk management activities. • Meant to ensure a consistent process for identifying, assessing, investigating, controlling, escalating, and reporting on practices in risk management. • The office falls under the Chief Risk Officer. |
Jan 23, 2017 | Wells Fargo acknowledges potential worker retaliation. • The bank says there are signs it retaliated against workers who tried to blow the whistle on the fake accounts. |
Jan 27, 2017 | New allegations about auto insurance are revealed. • The bank admits it charged at least 570,000 customers for auto insurance they did not need. • Wells Fargo says an internal review found about 20,000 customers may have defaulted on their car loans for related reasons. |
Feb 20, 2017 | Wells Fargo adds two independent directors: Karen Peetz, retired president of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation; and Ronald Sargent, retired chairman and chief executive officer of Staples, Inc. |
Feb 21, 2017 | Four senior bank employees who either worked or used to work in Wells Fargo's Community Banking division tied to the scandal are fired. • Claudia Russ Anderson, former community bank chief risk officer. • Pamela Conboy, Arizona lead regional president. • Shelley Freeman, former Los Angeles regional president (now head of Consumer Credit Solutions). • Matthew Raphaelson, head of community bank strategy and initiatives. |
Mar 1, 2017 | Wells Fargo announces changes to Executive Compensation affecting the Operating Committee, Wells Fargo's 11 highest-ranking executives, to promote accountability. • The compensation actions will affect the eight members of the Committee who were in place before it was reconstituted in November 2016. • The eight will not receive cash bonuses for 2016; and their performance share equity awards they received in 2014 that vested following 2016 will be reduced by up to 50%. • These compensation actions are in addition to previously announced forfeitures of unvested equity awards totaling $41 million by retired Chairman and CEO John Stumpf; and $19 million by departed head of Community Banking Carrie Tolstedt. |
Mar 6, 2017 | Wells Fargo announces that General Counsel James Strother will retire effective March 27 after 30 years with the company and 13 years leading the Law Department. • C. Allen Parker will join the company as its senior executive vice president and general counsel. |
Mar 26, 2017 | Wells Fargo preliminarily agrees to settles the Jabbari v. Wells Fargo class action suit with $110 million for wronged consumers, plus court costs. |
Mar 28, 2017 | The OCC downgrades Wells Fargo's Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) rating from "outstanding" to "needs to improve," due to Wells Fargo's discriminatory and illegal credit practices, including the fake accounts scandal. |
Apr 4, 2017 | CEO Tim Sloan publishes open letter to customers, which is also published in 30 market newspapers, to share progress following the company's September 2016 consent orders and legal settlements regarding retail sales practices. • The letter summarizes company progress in its senior leadership, executive accountability actions, refund efforts, the elimination of product sales goals, and steps taken to strengthen the company's culture and risk management. • The letter also kicks off a new Wells Fargo brand campaign, "Building better every day," that is set to debut April 17 and is aimed at building a better Wells Fargo. |
Apr 7, 2017 | Proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) recommended investors vote to replace the majority of directors at Wells Fargo in the wake of the bank's phony-account scandal. • ISS said votes against 12 of the bank's 15 directors are warranted after board committees failed for years to provide a timely and sufficient risk oversight process that could have mitigated the problems. |
Apr 10, 2017 | The Wells Fargo Independent Director's report, Sales Practices Investigation Report, is released and identifies cultural, structural, and leadership issues as root causes of improper sales practices. • The report is 110 pages, and the board was assisted by assisted by Shearman & Sterling LLP. • Blame is primarily placed on former CEO John Stumpf, whom it said had not responded to evidence of wrongdoing in the consumer services division or critically challenge the sales practices at the Community Bank; • Carrie Tolstedt, who did not recognize the sales model as a root cause of the problems, resisted or impeded oversight, refused to respond to subordinates who challenged the goals; and minimized the scale and nature of the problem; and • Wells Fargo's decentralized corporate structure, which gave too much authority and autonomy to the Community Bank's senior leadership without the necessary oversight and encouraged deference to the business units. • The report also reveals that the bank prepared an internal report in 2004 about practices going back to 2002 that may encourage employees to create fake accounts. Wells Fargo asks former executives for claw backs. • The bank claws back $75 million from two former executives for their roles in the fake accounts scandal, including another $28 million from former CEO John Stumpf. |
Apr 21, 2017 | The bank's cost of the Jabbari v. Wells Fargo settlement goes up when the class action suit is increased to $142 million. |
Jun 14, 2017 | New allegations about mortgages are leveled when in a new lawsuit, Wells Fargo is accused of modifying mortgages without authorization from the customers. • Some customers could have ended up paying the bank more than they owed, although Wells Fargo "strongly denies" the claims. |
Jul 9, 2017 | The Jabbari v. Wells Fargo class action lawsuit is settled for $142 million and will compensate customers with unauthorized accounts as far back as May 2002. |
Jul 27, 2017 | Wells Fargo announces that an internal probe found more issues with auto loans. • Since 2012, about 70,000 customers may have been pushed into auto loan insurance they did not need, and some 20,000 customers lost their vehicles because they could not afford the extra unneeded insurance fees. • The bank says it plans to refund $80 million ($64 million in remediation and $16 million in account adjustments). |
Aug 4, 2017 | Wells Fargo, although denying the accusations, agrees to settle a $108 million lawsuit with the U.S. Government over some Veterans Administration (VA) Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loans (IRRRLs). • The U.S. Government claims that the VA should not have paid the guarantees after those loans defaulted. |
Aug 14, 2017 | Wells Fargo is sued for allegedly ripping off small businesses by overcharging small businesses for credit card transactions by using a deceptive 63-page contract to confuse them. |
Aug 15, 2017 | More changes to the Board of Directors, including that Elizabeth "Betsy" Duke will succeeds Stephen W. Sanger as the independent Chairperson of the Board, effective January 1, 2018. • A new independent director, Juan Pujadas, a retired principal of PricewaterhouseCoopers, will join the board and there is expectation that up to 2 more independents will be added before the 2018 Annual Meeting. • Board committees were also rearranged including the Risk Committee, Governance and Nominating Committee, Corporate Responsibility Committee, and the Audit & Examination Committee. • Betsy Duke will also form a stakeholder advisory council that will include a diverse mix of the company's stakeholders to provide insight to the Board from a stakeholder perspective on current and emerging risks that could have an impact on the company. |
Aug 31, 2017 | Following the requirements of the CFPB and OCC 2018 Sales Practices Consent Orders, Wells Fargo announces that the independent consultant review of the retail bank accounts dating back to 2009, which shows: • Data analysis of 93.5 million current and former customer accounts opened from May 2011 through mid-2015 identified approximately 2.1 million potentially unauthorized accounts. • Data analysis of 165 million retail banking accounts opened from January 2009 through September 2016 identified a new total of approximately 3.5 million potentially unauthorized consumer and small business accounts. • The new accounts resulted in $6.1 million in erroneous banking fees. • Online Bill Pay services review identified approximately 528,000 potentially unauthorized online bill pay enrollments, and Wells Fargo will refund $910,000 to customers who incurred fees or charges. |
Oct 3, 2017 | CEO John Stumpf appears before the Senate Banking Committee to detail progress. The Federal Reserve issues a new supervisory matter requiring attention letter to Wells Fargo superseding the 2013 MOU / supervisory letter (apparently not a public record, but per a House Financial Committee Report). • The Federal Reserve did not believe that Wells Fargo's BOD was providing effective oversight of the firm's corporate risk function and failing to ensure senior management developed and implemented an effective risk management program. • It required Wells Fargo to enhance its enterprise-wide risk management plan within 60 days. |
Oct 4, 2017 | Wells Fargo admits that it wrongly fined mortgage clients (despite their June 14 denial). • Wells Fargo admits that 110,000 mortgage holders were fined for missing a deadline even though the delays were the company's fault. • Customer may have also paid inappropriate fees mortgage rate lock extensions (revealed in the Senate hearing October 3). • The company pledges to refund the customers. |
Oct 12, 2017 | Wells Fargo announces that Mike Roemer, who most recently served as group head of Compliance for Barclays, will be the Chief Compliance Officer as of January, 2018. |
Oct 16, 2017 | The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) regulators say Wells Fargo sold dangerous investments it didn't understand. • Regulators order the bank to pay back $3.4 million to brokerage customers because advisers recommended products that were "highly likely to lose value over time." • Wells Fargo does not admit to nor deny the charges. |
Nov 13, 2017 | Wells Fargo admits it illegally repossessed more service members' cars - it had taken vehicles from another 450 service members. • Wells Fargo agrees to pay an additional $5.4 million, according to the Justice Department and promises refunds. |
Nov 21, 2017 | Wells Fargo announces the creation of the Commitment to Customer Center of Excellence to centralize responsibility for consumer remediation into one office. |
Nov 28, 2017 | The Wall Street Journal publishes a story that Wells Fargo's Currency Exchange Business was acting improperly. • Wells Fargo denies the story, saying that it does not act improperly, its actions are within the industry standards, and the story contains incorrect statements of the company's actions. |
Nov 29, 2017 | Wells Fargo names three additional independent board members: • Celeste Clark, former chief sustainability officer of Kellogg Company • Theodore Craver, Jr., former chairman, president, and CEO of utility Edison International • Maria Morris, interim head of the U.S. and Global Employee Benefits business of MetLife, Inc. |
Dec 18, 2017 | Wells Fargo announces that Mary Mack will head the company's Consumer Lending business, in addition to Community Banking. |
Dec 21, 2017 | Wells Fargo announces the launch of its Stakeholder Advisory Council as advised previously on August 15. |
Jan 17, 2018 | Wells Fargo announces that Chief Risk Officer Mike Loughling is retiring. |
Jan 30, 2018 | Wells Fargo announces that Sarah Dahlgren, recently of McKinsey & Company, is named head of Regulatory Relations. |
Feb 2, 2018 | The Federal Reserve's February 2, 2018 Consent Order, also known as the Asset Cap. • The Federal Reserve, in an unprecedented move, in order to limit the bank's growth to force the bank to address the board's corporate risk oversight failures, places an asset cap on Wells Fargo. • The consent order is with Wells Fargo's Board of Directors and each board director has to sign the consent order, which requires them to: - Submit a written plan within 60 days (i.e., April 3, 2018) to further enhance the board's effectiveness in carrying out its oversight and governance; and implement a firmwide compliance and operational risk management program. - Once the Federal Reserve approves the plans, the plans must be submitted no later than September 30, 2018 (as selected and negotiated by Wells Fargo) to an independent third-party review who must also approve the plans. - Until the process is completed, Wells Fargo will be limited in the growth of the company's total consolidated assets to the level as of December 31, 2017 so that its six-month average of total assets is below $1.95 trillion. |
Feb 21, 2018 | Wells Fargo reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission. • The settlement, which included a $3 billion fine for the bank's violations of criminal and civil law, does not prevent individual employees from being targets of future litigation. |
Mar 1, 2018 | Wells Fargo announces a continuation of the restructuring of the BOD by limiting the nomination of 12 members at the upcoming Annual Meeting in April. • Federico Peña, who was scheduled to retire from the board in 2019, has decided to retire at the company's 2018 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. • John Chen, Lloyd Dean, and Enrique Hernandez, Jr., currently the board's longest serving directors, will retire in 2019, |
Mar 16, 2018 | DOJ expands investigation to Wells Fargo Wealth Management business. • The bank said it was investigating whether there have been inappropriate referrals or recommendations within its Wealth and Investment Management business. |
Apr 3, 2018 | Wells Fargo makes its first submission to the Federal Reserve on the required date of plans for board effectiveness and risk management under the 2018 Federal Reserve Consent Order (Asset Cap). On the same day as the submission, the Federal Reserve and COB Betsy Duke discuss the 2018 Federal Reserve Consent Order. • They question Wells Fargo's internally imposed implementation date of July 31, 2018 and September 30, 2018 deadline for third-party review. |
Apr 20, 2018 | The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency April 20, 2018 Compliance Risk Management Consent Orders • The CFPB and OCC issue coordinated consent orders that charge Wells Fargo for consumer abuses in two of the bank's loan-related programs: - From September 2013-February 2017, Wells Fargo Bank inappropriately charged prospective mortgage loan borrowers fees for extending the period for a mortgage interest-rate lock, including when the bank's own delay created the need for an extension. - From October 2005-September 2016, Wells Fargo Bank purchased "force-placed insurance" on borrowers' vehicles by adding the costs (avg: $1,000) to the auto-loan balance. - Borrowers who failed to pay faced additional fees, delinquencies, loan default, and repossession (approx: 27,000 vehicles were repossessed). - Wells Fargo Bank's violations resulted from deficiencies in the bank's enterprise-wide compliance risk management program that constituted reckless, unsafe, or unsound practices. • Both Consent Orders' requirements plans are again very similar (although may differ in the details): - Develop a comprehensive plan for identifying and remediating consumer harm for its defective interest-rate lock policy and collateral protection insurance processes. - Require Wells Fargo to submit a separate remediation plan for the regulators' approval whenever another abuse occurs where: 50,000+ consumers need remediation; remediation of $10+ million; or harm presents reputational risk or supervisory concerns. - Submit a compliance plan that includes a company-wide Compliance Risk Management Program (CRMP), including staffing requirements, and enhancing the Bank's internal audit program. - The CFPB and the OCC must approve the remediation and compliance plans before the consent orders will be lifted. - Again, the Consent Orders place ultimate responsibility for compliance with Wells Fargo's Board of Directors. • The CFPB assessed a record $1 billion penalty against the bank and the OCC imposed a $500 million fine, which the CFPB credited toward its $1 billion penalty. |
May 4, 2018 | Wells Fargo reaches in principal a settlement to the consent order for settle securities-fraud lawsuit from investors that claimed the bank knew about the fake account issue but failed to disclose this material fact to investors for $480 million. |
May 7, 2018 | The Federal Reserve rejects Wells Fargo April 3 submission for the 2018 Federal Reserve Consent Order (Asset Cap). • The Federal Reserve informed Wells Fargo that its submission was materially incomplete to the extent that it could not be evaluated for adequacy. • They informed Wells Fargo that it had 90 days (Aug 7) to submit revised plans that addressed the requirements of the consent order. Wells Fargo announces that Amanda Norton, recently serving as Chief Risk Officer of Consumer and Community Banking at JPMorgan Chase, will replace the previously announced retiring Mike Loughlin as Chief Risk Officer. |
May 10, 2018 | CEO Tim Sloan told investors and analysts at a Wells Fargo investor conference that Wells Fargo is making plans to operate under the 2018 Federal Reserve Consent Order (Asset Cap) through the first part of 2019. |
May 17, 2018 | Wells Fargo advised that it has altered business information without clients' knowledge. • Wells Fargo's wholesale banking division altered business information like Social Security numbers and dates of birth without client knowledge. • The incidents happened as the bank was trying to comply with a deadline related to an anti-money laundering control. • Wells Fargo said no customers were negatively impacted. |
Jun 5, 2018 | CEO Tim Sloan sends a letter to the Federal Reserve formally requesting an extension from August 7 to September 19, 2018 for the second submission of plans under the 2018 Federal Reserve Consent Order (Asset Cap). |
Jun 6, 2018 | Wells Fargo announces that David Galloreese, most recently serving as head of people (chief HR officer) for Sam’s Club and the head of talent for Walmart, will become head of Human Resources effective July 9. |
Jun 14, 2018 | The class-action lawsuit settlement concerning improper retail sales practices in Jabbari v. Wells Fargo received final approval in an order from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. |
Jun 19, 2018 | Wells Fargo makes its first submission plan to the OCC under the 2018 Compliance Risk Management Consent Orders. |
Jun 25, 2018 | The SEC fines Wells Fargo $4 million and forces it to repay over $1 million in ill-gotten gains and interest to mom-and-pop investors at Wells Fargo Advisors, the bank's brokerage arm. • The bank did not admit wrongdoing but made changes in response to the matter. |
Jul 19, 2018 | Wells Fargo refunded tens of millions of dollars after adding services like pet insurance and legal services to consumers' accounts without consumers' full understanding. • The bank stopped add-on products in 2017 (other banks have paid settlements over similar issues). |
Jun 19, 2018 | The OCC rejects Wells Fargo's first submission plan under the 2018 Compliance Risk Management Consent Orders. • The OCC notes that the submission lacks substance and details in a number of areas. • The OCC instructs Wells Fargo to resubmit the plan and enhance the internal audit function and remediation to customers. |
Aug 1, 2018 | Wells Fargo reaches agreement with the DOJ for a $2.1 billion fine after facing allegations that it had improperly represented mortgages it sold to investors during the housing bubble. • This was expected and is similar to the other banks involved in the financial crisis, but Wells Fargo is one of the last banks to deal with these issues. |
Aug 5, 2018 | Wells Fargo announces that it has set aside $8 million for 625 people who were incorrectly denied loan modifications. • 400 of them had their homes foreclosed upon. |
Aug 24, 2018 | CEO Tim Sloan sends a letter to the Federal Reserve formally requesting a second extension until October 31, 2018 replacing the previous request to extend the second filing deadline until September 19, for the 2018 Federal Reserve Consent Order (Asset Cap). |
Oct 22, 2018 | Wells Fargo reaches agreement with the Office of the Attorney General of the State of New York to resolve claims alleging certain misstatements and omissions in the Company's disclosures related to sales practices matters. • Wells Fargo did not admit liability. |
Oct 24, 2018 | Wells Fargo announces further personal changes related to previously disclosed ongoing reviews by regulatory agencies in connection with historical retail banking sales practices. • Chief Administrative Officer Hope Hardison and Chief Auditor David Julian have begun leaves of absence from Wells Fargo and will no longer be members of the company's Operating Committee. • Also announce other key leadership changes and changes of responsibility in the Chief Administrative Office, Audit Services functions, and the Operating Committee. |
Oct 31, 2018 | Wells Fargo, after two extensions, makes its second submission to the Federal Reserve for plans for board effectiveness and risk management under the 2018 Federal Reserve Consent Order (Asset Cap). |
Dec 10, 2018 | Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell wrote a reply letter reply to Sen. Elizabeth Warren that the Federal Reserve does not intend to lift the asset cap until remedies have been adopted and implemented to the Federal Board's satisfaction. |
Dec 18, 2018 | Wells Fargo reaches agreement in Hefler v. Wells Fargo in District Court of Northern California resolve claims alleging certain misstatements and omissions in the Company's disclosures related to sales practices matters. • The $480-million settlement agreement provides for payment of class member claims. • The settlement class consists of all persons and entities who purchased Wells Fargo & Company common stock from February 26, 2014 through September 20, 2016. |
Dec 28, 2018 | Wells Fargo reach an agreement with all states' + D.C.'s Attorney Generals regarding previously disclosed retail sales practices, auto collateral protection insurance ("CPI") and Guaranteed Asset/Auto Protection ("GAP"), and mortgage interest rate lock matters. • Wells Fargo will pay a total of $575 million; maintain designated teams and a designated website to review and respond to customer inquiries on the covered issues; and provide periodic reports to the AGs on progress. |
Jan 15, 2019 | CEO Tim Sloan advises during the Wells Fargo's earnings conference call that Wells Fargo is planning to operate under the 2018 Federal Reserve Consent Order (Asset Cap) through the end of 2019. |
Jan 17, 2019 | Wells Fargo announces that Wayne Hewett, currently chairman of DiversiTech Corporation, will join the company's board of directors. |
Mar 11, 2019 | The Federal Reserve responds to Wells Fargo's October 31, 2019 submission plan to remedy the 2018 Federal Reserve Consent Order (Asset Cap). • Although Wells Fargo has made some progress, it found that the plans remain materially incomplete, as there were gaps, errors, discrepancies, and incorrect deliverables and time frames for future milestones. • They also advise that continued failure to submit acceptable plans reflects poorly on the firm and will negatively influence their view of the BOD and senior management's capacity to effectively manage and govern the firm. • More ominously, they indicate that a third failure to submit acceptable plans could cause the Federal Reserve to consider additional actions. • The Federal Reserve gives Wells Fargo 90 days (June 10, 2019) to respond with an estimated timeline for submitting a complete, revised plans that have undergone internal review consistent with the expectations laid out in the letter. Wells Fargo is one of 79 firms sanctioned by the SEC for having advisors select more expensive mutual funds for clients, which resulted in more fees for those advisors. |
Mar 12, 2019 | CEO Tim Sloan appears before the House Committee on Financial Services to give an update on the bank's progress to compensate customers for past issues, actions the company has taken to rebuild trust, and statuses of the five consents orders. • In general, CEO Tim Sloan replies that Wells Fargo is in compliance with those plans (actually, none of the five consent orders have been met). • After the testimony, the OCC issued a statement saying that they continue to be disappointed with Wells Fargo's performance under their consent orders, and its inability to execute effective corporate governance and a successful risk management program. |
Mar 13, 2019 | Wells Fargo announces in its annual proxy statement that the Company's board had awarded CEO Tim Sloan $18.4 million in compensation for 2018, including a $2 million performance bonus. • This award is despite that Wells Fargo had to enter into three new consent orders in 2018, paying back hundred of millions dollars in restitution, billions in fines, and other new wrong-doing disclosures. • Also, given the House testimony the previous day, and what some might some consider misleading statements about being in compliance with the consent orders, the action, let alone the timing, seems dubious. • The Federal Reserve issues a statement that says they do not approve pay packages and they expect the BOD to hold management accountable. |
Mar 28, 2019 | Wells Fargo announces that CEO & President Tim Sloan has decided to step down immediately and to retire effective June 30, 2019. • BOD elects C. Allen Parker, who serves as the company's General Counsel, as interim CEO and President (and member of the Board), effective immediately. • An external search process will begin for the company's new CEO and President. |
Apr 30, 2019 | Wells Fargo submits (previous submissions unknown, but this may be the third submission) a revised Comprehensive Action Plan for the 2016 Sales Practices Consent Orders. • The revised plan extends the date for fully implementing and validating the complaints platform until September 30, 2021. |
May 21, 2019 | In responding to Wells Fargo's revised Comprehensive Action Plan for the 2016 Sales Practices Consent Orders, the OCC notes that this is now years past the consent order and any further extension requests may incur additional actions or penalties. |
May 29, 2019 | Wells Fargo announces that Charles Noski, most recently as vice chairman of Bank of America Corporation, will be joining the company's board of directors, effective June 1, 2019. |
Jun 10, 2019 | On the due date for Wells Fargo to advise a timeline for their third plan to remedy the 2018 Federal Reserve Consent Order (Asset Cap), COB Betsy Duke and Interim CEO Allen Parker state that Wells Fargo will re-submit the plans required by April 30, 2020 (over 9 months later). |
Jun 28, 2019 | Wells Fargo announce a new Strategic Execution and Operations Office, which will focus on achieving operational excellence across businesses to enable the company to execute more effectively against its regulatory priorities and further drive transformation. • Derek Flowers, an executive officer, a member of the company's Operating Committee, and a 21-year company veteran; will be its head and report to Interim CEO and President Allen Parker. • The office will be composed of the Regulatory Consent Order and Risk Framework Execution Office, the Sales Practice Consent Order Office, Regulatory Relations, and the Business Process Management and Operational Design team. |
Sep 27, 2019 | Wells Fargo announces that Charles W. Scharf, current chairman and CEO of Bank of New York Mellon, as the company's new CEO and President, as well as and a member of the Board of Directors, effective October 21, 2019. • Interim CEO and President C. Allen Parker will support the transition, then continue as a key member of the company's leadership team and director, but return to his General Counsel role. |
Oct 17, 2019 | Wells Fargo announces that Richard Payne Jr., retired former vice chairman of Wholesale Banking at U.S. Bancorp, will be joining the company's board of directors, effective immediately. |
Nov 14, 2019 | Wells Fargo announces that General Counsel C. Allen Parker has made the decision to leave the company effective March 31, 2020, to pursue other business opportunities. • The company will commence a search for a new General Counsel immediately with the goal being that Parker will assist in a smooth transition to the new General Counsel. |
Dec 2, 2019 | Wells Fargo announces that Scott Powell, currently CEO of Santander Holdings USA, has been named chief operating officer effective December 9, 2019. • Powell will serve on the company's Operating Committee and report directly to CEO and President Charlie Scharf. • Considered a positive step forward by the CFPB, OCC, and the Feral Reserve to help meet the five Consent Orders as having a COO had been resisted by former CEO Tim Sloan. |
Jan 23, 2020 | The OCC announces a notice of charges against various former senior executives of Wells Fargo stemming from the executives' role in the bank's systemic sales practices misconduct. • The notice of charges alleges these executives failed to adequately perform their duties and responsibilities, which contributed to the bank's systemic problems with sales practices misconduct from 2002 until October 2016. • The misconduct of these individuals allowed the practices to continue for years, affecting millions of bank customers and thousands of lower level bank employees. - John Stumpf, Chairman and CEO, with a Prohibition Order for working in the banking industry for life and a $17.5 million Civil Money Penalty. - Carrie Tolstedt, Head of the Community Bank, with a Prohibition Order for working in the banking industry for life and a $25 million Civil Money Penalty. - Claudia Russ Anderson, Community Bank Group Risk Officer, with a Prohibition Order for working in the banking industry for life and a $5 million Civil Money Penalty, (for making false and misleading statements and actively obstructed the examinations of the bank's sales practices). - James Strother, General Counsel, with a Personal Cease & Desist Order and a $5 million Civil Money Penalty. - Hope Hardinson, Chief Administrative Officer and Director of Corporate Human Resources, with a Personal Cease & Desist Order and $2.25 million Civil Money Penalty. - David Julian, Chief Auditor, with a Personal Cease & Desist Order and a $2 million Civil Money Penalty. - Michael Loughlin, Chief Risk Officer, with a Personal Cease & Desist Order and $1.25 million Civil Money Penalty. - Paul McLinko, Executive Audit Director, with a Personal Cease & Desist Order and a $500,000 Civil Money Penalty. |
Feb 11, 2020 | Wells Fargo announces changes designed to create a flatter line of business organizational structure and provide leaders with clear authority, accountability, and responsibility. • The new model has five lines of business CEOs, each reporting to Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf and represented on the company's Operating Committee. • Mary Mack, who most recently led Consumer Banking, becomes CEO of Consumer and Small Business Banking, responsible for Branch Banking and Small Business, which includes the company's 5,400 branches. • Perry Pelos, who most recently led Wholesale Banking, transitions to a new role as CEO of Commercial Banking, responsible for Commercial Capital, Treasury Management, Business Banking, Middle Market Banking, and Government and Institutional Banking. • Jon Weiss, who most recently led Wealth & Investment Management, transitions to a new role as CEO of Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB), focusing on commercial real estate, banking, and investment needs of Wells Fargo's corporate, government, and institutional clients. • Mike Weinbach, who most recently served as the CEO of Chase Home Lending at JPMorgan Chase, will join Wells Fargo in early May as CEO of Consumer Lending, responsible for Home Lending, Auto, Credit Cards & Merchant Services, and Personal Loans. • A new CEO of Wealth & Investment Management, which provides a full range of personalized wealth management services to clients across its businesses that include Wells Fargo Advisors, The Private Bank, Abbot Downing, and Wells Fargo Asset Management will be named. • Each of the company's business lines operations leaders will report to Chief Operating Officer Scott Powell (who reports to CEO Charles Scharf), with joint reporting relationships to business line CEOs. • COO Powell will also create a Sales Practices Oversight and Management role, led by Michael Cleary (who just came from Santander US), that will establish an integrated and consistent approach to sales practice monitoring, analytics, and reporting across the company. |
Feb 21, 2020 | Wells Fargo reaches settlements to resolve outstanding DOJ and SEC investigations related to historical community bank sales practices. • The DOJ settlement resolves the criminal investigation into sales practice activities in the Community Bank from 2002 to 2016. • As part of the agreement, no charges will be filed against Wells Fargo provided Wells Fargo abides by all the terms of the agreement for three years, $3 billion payment, and the DOJ recognizes that Wells Fargo cooperated fully with the government's investigations. • The separate administrative orders that resolve the SEC's civil investigation includes that Wells Fargo agrees to the establishment of a $500 million Fair Fund (part of the $3 billion settlement) for the benefit of investors who were harmed by the conduct covered in the agreement. |
Mar 9, 2020 | Wells Fargo announces that COB Betsy Duke has resigned as Chair and a member of Wells Fargo's Board of Directors effective March 8, 2020. • Charles Noski will serve as COB of the Wells Fargo Board. Wells Fargo also announces that James Quigley resigns as a member of the Board. |
Mar 13, 2020 | Wells Fargo announces that Ellen Patterson will join the company as its senior executive vice president and general counsel, and will serve on the company's Operating Committee, effective March 23, 2020. |
Apr 8, 2020 | Federal Reserve temporarily eases Wells Fargo's asset cap so that the bank can make additional loans to small businesses through the Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program and the upcoming Main Street Lending Program. • The Fed said that it would not count the bank's lending activities through the SBA program and the Main Street Lending Program against the $1.95 trillion cap for the duration of the two credit facilities. |
Apr 27, 2020 | Wells Fargo announces that Lester Owens will join the company in July in the newly created role of head of operations, responsible for building a more unified & integrated approach to business operations functions and will serve on the company's Operating Committee. |
Apr 28, 2020 | Wells Fargo announces that Steven Black, current co-CEO of Bregal Investments, will be joining the company's board of directors, effective immediately. |
Apr 30, 2020 | On Wells Fargo's requested due date to submit their third plan to remedy the 2018 Federal Reserve Consent Order (Asset Cap), it appears that they do not file. • Because of the COVID-19 pandemic or because of a further request for a delay (does not appear to be public information), the filing is not made on its due date, but will be made in September 2020. |
May 20, 2020 | Despite outstanding issues, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) upgrades Wells Fargo’s Community Reinvestment Act rating to “outstanding”. |
Jul 21, 2020 | Wells Fargo announces that Mike Santomassimo, from Bank of New York Mellon, will join the company in the fall, 2020 as Chief Financial Officer and will serve on the company's Operating Committee. • He will succeed John Shrewsberry, who has announced plans to retire following a successful 22-year career with Wells Fargo, including the last six years as the company's CFO. |
Jul 22, 2020 | Reports begin to emerge that Wells Fargo put customers in 14 states into forbearance during the Covid-19 pandemic without their permission or knowledge. • This prevents them from re-financing despite the rate collapse or moving their loan accounts to another bank. • Wells Fargo had previously done this to clients who had already filed bankruptcy in July, but this affects other clients. |
Aug 21, 2020 | Wells Fargo announces that Mark Chancy, most recently as co-COO at SunTrust Banks, will join the company's board of directors, effective immediately. |
Sep, 2020 | At some point in September, Wells Fargo submits (after another apparent delay since April) their third plan to remedy the 2018 Federal Reserve Consent Order (Asset Cap) - the exact date is unclear. |
Sep 30, 2020 | Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) sends a letter to the Federal Reserve detailing the forbearance issue and that Wells Fargo still does not have the proper management controls as it considers removing the asset cap |
Jan 5, 2021 | Wells Fargo announces that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has terminated its Nov. 19, 2015 Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) Consent Order. |
Jan 12, 2021 | Wells Fargo announces the formation of the Office of Consumer Practices (OCP), which will be part of the Chief Operating Office and will be led by Michael Lipsitz, Chief Regulatory and Policy Affairs Executive. • The Office of Consumer Practices' work will complement efforts already underway to improve the company's sales practices and its overall customer experience. • The Office of Consumer Practices is another step to embed the customer perspective directly into the decision-making processes to strengthen the risk and control infrastructure. |
Feb 17, 2021 | There are unconfirmed news reports that the Federal Reserve has advised Wells Fargo that their submitted plans in regards to the 2018 Federal Reserve Consent Order (Asset Cap) will be accepted. • Even if approved by the Federal Reserve, any of the steps in the plan not yet implemented must be, it is still then subject to the third party review, implementation of any third party recommendations, and approval once again. |
Apr 15, 2021 | Wells Fargo announces that David Galloreese, head of Human Resources, will be leaving the company for an outside position. • Kleber Santos, head of Diverse Segments, Representation, and Inclusion and a member of the Operating Committee, will take on the additional role of interim head of HR. • Wells Fargo will conducts a formal search for a new head of HR. |
May 5, 2021 | In Wells Fargo's filed 10-Q, they disclosed new probes by the Consumer Financial Protection Board into the bank's checking account practices. • Checking Wells Fargo's practices around how consumer deposit accounts were closed if fraudulent activity was suspected; and past disclosures to customers about how much they were required to use debit cards to get their monthly service fees waived. |
May 27, 2021 | Wells Fargo announces that Sarah Dahlgren, head of Regulatory Relations, is leaving to pursue other professional challenges. |
Jul 8, 2021 | Per customer letters, Wells Fargo is ending all existing revolving personal lines of credit within weeks and won't offer the product any longer in order to allow the bank to focus on personal loans and credit cards. • Per the letter's FAQ, the bank advised that the closing of the customer's account may affect the customer's credit score. |
Aug 10, 2021 | Wells Fargo announces that after two years as a director and a little more than a year as being chairman of the board, Charles Noski will retire and board member Steven Black has been elected as the new chairman. |
Aug 19, 2021 | Wells Fargo announced that it is reversing its July 8 decision to end all existing revolving personal lines of credit. |
Sep 8, 2021 | The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's September 8, 2016 Sales Practices Consent Orders expires |
Sep 9, 2021 | Office of the Comptroller of the Currency September 9, 2021 Violation of 2018 Compliance Order and Home Lending Loss Mitigation Cease and Desist Order • OCC issues a new cease and desist order related to alleged deficiencies in its home lending loss mitigation program and violation of its April 20, 2018 Compliance Risk Management Consent Order • The new Cease and Desist Order requires Wells Fargo to take broad and comprehensive corrective actions to improve the execution, risk management, and oversight of the bank’s loss mitigation program by - Restricting them from acquiring certain third-party residential mortgage servicing - Requires them to ensure that borrowers are not transferred out of the bank’s loan servicing portfolio until remediation is provided, except as required by an investor pursuant to a contractual right. • OCC fines Wells Fargo with a $250 million civil money penalty • Again, the Consent Orders place ultimate responsibility for compliance with Wells Fargo's Board of Directors. |
Jan 2, 2022 | Amanda Norton, who had been hired as Chief Risk Officer following the April 20, 2018 Compliance Risk Management Consent Orders, announces her retirement effective in June. |
Jan 18, 2022 | Wells Fargo announces that Derek Flowers, most recently as Head of Strategic Execution and Operations, will replace Amanda Norton as Chief Risk Officer. |
Jan 20, 2022 | Wells Fargo announces that the June 3, 2015 Office of the Comptroller of the Currency consent order related to Wells Fargo sales of add-on products for identity theft protection, credit protection, and related products has been terminated. |
Nov 5, 2022 | Bloomberg reports that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is seeking more than $1 billion to settle some of the bank's past issues with customers. Neither the CFPB or Wells Fargo would confirm. |
Nov 7, 2022 | During a hearing, Senator Elizabeth Warren said that CEO Charles Scharf was being evasive and misleading in response to her questions on why Wells Fargo customers experience twice as high reported fraud and scams on the Zelle payment platform compared to other banks. |
Dec 20, 2022 | The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) fines Wells Fargo $1.7B and orders them to pay more than $2B redress to 16 million consumers related to the CFPB April 20, 2018 Compliance Risk Management Consent Orders for illegally assessed fees and interest charges on auto loans (including repossessions), mortgage loans, and consumer deposit accounts. The CFPB related to Wells Fargo a future path to closing this consent order. Wells Fargo also noted that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau August 20, 2016 Student Loan Consent Order was closed. |
Mar 16, 2023 | U.S. Attorney's office in Los Angeles announce that Carrie Tolstedt, Wells Fargo's former head of Community Banking, agreed to plead guilty to obstructing a bank examination into the lender's fake account scandal. • Any prison time will be determined at a future court hearing. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) fined her $17m. • She also agreed to a ban from working in the banking industry. |
Mar 30, 2023 | Wells Fargo is fined $97.8m, $67.8m from the Federal Reserve Board and $30m from the Office of Foreign Assets Controls, for deficient oversight of sanctions compliance by allowing a foreign lender to process prohibited transactions on the Eximbills platform. |
May 16, 2023 | Wells Fargo agrees to pay $1B to settle shareholders class action lawsuit relating to the opening of unauthorized accounts. • Pension fund shareholders from Louisiana, Mississippi, and Rhode Island had asserted that Wells Fargo had made misleading statements about its compliance with regulators, which when discovered to be contrary caused the shareholders additional losses. |
May 30, 2023 | Carrie Tolstedt, former head of Wells Fargo's Community Bank, agreed to a $3M penalty to settle fraud charges with the SEC over misleading investors about the success of Community Bank. • This stems from the cross-sell metric that led to unauthorized accounts being opened. • SEC asserts that she knew the metric did not accurately track accounts and products, yet she made public statements at investor conferences and signed certifications to the contrary. |
Jun 5, 2023 | Wells Fargo is ordered by the court to begin mediation to settle allegations that the bank discriminated against Black homeowners by charging them higher interest rates during the refinance surge in 2020 from the pandemic. • Expected time frame is six months. |
Aug 8, 2023 | Wells Fargo is fined $200m for failure to maintain electronic records of employee communications by using unapproved communication methods such as Signal, WhatsApp, and iMessage. |
Sep 12, 2024 | Wells Fargo entered into an agreement with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency after the OCC found that Wells Fargo's safeguards against money laundering and other illegal transactions were too lax; including that the lender's controls were deficient in identifying and preventing money laundering & sanctions evasion, failure to learn about customers, and failure to flag potentially suspicious transactions. The agreement restricts Wells Fargo's ability to expand in risky businesses and ordered the bank to strengthen internal controls, due diligence procedures, and currency transaction reporting. |
Sep 26, 2024 | News reports that Wells Fargo submitted a 3rd party review of its risk and control overhauls to the Federal Reserve to address the 8 regulatory consent orders and to lift the asset cap imposed by the Treasury in 2018 for a host of scandals, mostly uncovered in 2016. The 3rd party review of Wells Fargo's plan has been on-going for years. However, even if the Federal Reserve accepts the reviewed plan there is no expected change in the asset cap until sometime in 2025. |