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February 21, 2020 at 01:47 PM
A Wells Fargo branch in New York (Photo: Bloomberg)
Wells Fargo is set to pay some $3 billion to settle federal investigations of its fake accounts and related client abuses, according to several news reports.
The penalties — which could be finalized later today — involve the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg News. The settlement with Justice may include criminal charges, the Journal said.
The news comes about a month after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued fines of $37.5 million against five former Wells Fargo executives and reached settlements of $21 million with ex-Chairman and CEO John Stumpf and several other former members of the bank’s operating committee.
Stumpf was barred from the business and agreed to pay a $17.5 million fine. Hope Hardison, the former chief administrative officer and director of human resources, agreed to pay $7.5 million, while ex-Chief Risk Officer Michael Loughlin reached a deal to pay a $1.25 million fine.
The biggest fine for the former bank execs hit Carrie Tolstedt, who led Wells Fargo’s community bank during the fake-accounts scandal. She now faces a $25 million penalty, but it could be increased, the OCC says. Tolstedt and four others are fighting the allegations and have not reached a settlement.
