Posted on 09/13/2016 2:39:19 PM PDT by Kaslin
If Wells Fargo was focused on bank charges and interest rates rather than political hot button issues, perhaps they wouldn’t have had to fire thousands of employees for ripping off customers and be liable for millions in fines.
In a recent press release, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau [CFPB] recounted that Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. will pay “the largest penalty the CFPB has ever imposed,” $185 million, because thousands of Wells Fargo employees “covertly” opened “more than two million deposit and credit card accounts,” transferring funds from consumers’ authorized accounts without their knowledge or consent, often racking up fees or other charges.”
The press release says the employees who engaged in this “widespread illegal practice” were “spurred by sales targets and compensation incentives.” “Spurred” is a little mild, considering that CNN Money reports that a “pressure cooker environment” at Wells Fargo resulted in employees engaging “in all kinds of sordid practices.”
Specifically, approximately 5,300 employees may have opened roughly 1.5 million deposit accounts, transferring funds from consumers’ accounts to temporarily fund the new, unauthorized accounts. The CFPB reports that consumers were “sometimes harmed” from insufficient funds or overdraft charges. But it seems it was a win-win for Wells Fargo for those actions apparently helped the bank meet sales goals and also helped employees earn additional compensation.
Additionally, CFPB says employees applied for “roughly 565,000 credit card accounts that may not have been authorized by consumers, leading to “incurred annual fees, as well as associated finance or interest charges and other fees.” They also issued and activated debit cards and created PIN numbers and fake email addresses to enroll unaware consumers in online-banking services.
All this, while Wells Fargo was simultaneously shoving social issues down consumers’ throats as they’ve done for years.
Last year, in response to an advertisement featuring a lesbian couple, noteworthy Evangelicals like Franklin Graham said they’d had enough and closed out their accounts. Nonetheless, Wells Fargo remained resolute in its activist stance and has the right to do so.
But individuals also have the right to put their money in banks that leave what people do in the bedroom out of the boardroom.
During an interview in 2015 with the San Francisco Business Times, Wells Fargo executive Doug Case said, “…our CEO John Stumpf very frequently will talk about LGBT inclusiveness and, talk about walking the talk…”
Walking the talk? Sure, Wells Fargo repeatedly receives high rankings from the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBT advocacy group and political lobbying organization in the United States, the bank’s latest scam is just one in a “string of infractions,” reports USA Today. Wells Fargo “faced or settled four key areas of litigation as of the end of 2015” including FHA insurance claims, Visa and MasterCard interchange fees, mortgage products, and order of posting (overdraft) fees.
So why not try walking the bank talk? Obviously, Wells Fargo has lost its focus. It is easy to do. But when a distraction sidetracks your purpose something’s got to give. Wells Fargo’s forgotten that a bank is not a social experimentation petri dish. It is a financial institution…a bank. Banks lend and borrow money and accept customers’ deposits and pay interest in return. Then they use those funds to lend to other customers. Pure and simple.
Given that 5,300 employees, not just a handful of bad actors, were fired for what boils down to identity theft for profit, Wells Fargo would be better served serving its purpose, rather than investing time and energy bartering in social and political activism.
I’m moving my accounts. Their other PC positions are also too political.
Bye bye WFC.
A relative had me look at a transaction on a Wells Fargo bank statement that reeked of fraud ... I should know, I worked for many years at a bank in an embezzlement/fraud-finding capacity. Anyhoo .... the bank manager, after assuring this relative that all was hunky dory ...just a mere boo boo ... no worries, got the money put back in the account. The way the transaction was processed, it could not have been a boo boo. I’m curious if it was part of this WF widespread rip off.
Wells Fargo Sux!
1.5 million deposit accounts, transferring funds from consumers’ accounts to temporarily fund the new, unauthorized accounts. The CFPB reports that consumers were “sometimes harmed” from insufficient funds or overdraft charges.
1.5 Million Counts of IDENTITY THEFT
1.5 Million Counts of FRAUD
1.5 Million counts of MONEY LAUNDERING
At least NOBODY WENT TO JAIL????
The Entire Institution should be Shut Down and they ALL belong in PRISON FOR LIFE, I would also allow the employees that lost their Job, through No Fault of their Own, the Right to SUE FOR DAMAGES.
Wells Fargo has at least a 35 year history of screwing their customers. One guy I know personally had his revolving credit line of 28 million called for no reason. There actually WAS a reason......Wells Fargo wanted to STEAL his 60 million dollar property. A judge ruled that Wells cancell the 28 million debt, and pay the rancher 35 million more. They are scum.
Now they have to pay some $$$ to illary everything will be cleared or DOJ or FBI.
Just bribe them, nothing will happen.
That’s what is described in the article. They had a bunch of employees on quota for how many new accounts they could open. Some customers got credit cards with yearly fees or lost money in other ways - all without their knowledge of the new accounts.
I have a checking account with them and that’s all.
It’s a holdover from the good old days of South Carolina National and early Wachovia.
Mostly I bank with some credit unions.
Wells Fargo is bankrupt. More bad debt than assets.
So says the Fed Reserve wiz Andy Gause.
Diversify bank accounts.
“we unleashed the wolfpack from the Law Offices of Dewey, Cheatem, and Howe on them.”
Hah! Good for you!
Not quite that simple. My understanding is that they actually loan made up money that they generate electronically--no its not counterfeiting--they are authorized to provided they meet certain requirements including having a certain percentage of the money loaned as a reserve to cover defaults when they happen. When they get paid back the principle goes back to the land of make believe and they pocket the interest.
It’s called fractional reserve lending and depending on the reserve ratio is very dangerous - it’s effectively naked short on the currency in question. Many believe fractional reserve banks = capitalism but that is grossly inaccurate. Fractional reserve lending has existed for at least 1000 years and likely much longer and is present in every type of system today. It’s the only industry I believe needs to be heavily regulated.
Phauxcahontas say Fargo Stumpf bad medicine. Will scalp next week pow wow on the hill.
“Many believe fractional reserve banks = capitalism but that is grossly inaccurate”
Ludwig von Mises described fractional reserve lending as the very definition of banking itself- I believe that you will find that in his Theory of Money and Credit- the creation of credit money as distinct from lending specie money is what defines banking.
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