CRIME PAYS –

Dec. 20, 2022 – Wells Fargo’s yearslong mistreatment of its customers has resulted in another record-breaking fine and a warning that more restrictions on its ability to do business could soon follow.

On Tuesday, the bank agreed to pay a $1.7 billion fine and another $2 billion in damages to settle claims that it engaged in an array of banking violations over the last decade that harmed millions of consumers, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said.

The bank misapplied customer payments on home and auto loans, wrongfully repossessed some borrowers’ cars and homes and charged overdraft fees even when customers had enough money to cover purchases they made with their bank cards, according to an order filed by the consumer protection bureau. Wells Fargo stopped the conduct this year as part of a larger effort to clean up other abusive practices stretching back to 2011, the filing said. The settlement allows the bank to address one of a series of a crises that led to the ouster of its previous chief executive, Timothy Sloan, in 2019. Mr. Sloan took the top post to help clean up the bank’s reputation, which was reeling from self-inflicted scandals, but he became a lightning rod for criticism and was replaced after three years on the job by Charles W. Scharf.

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