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Violation Tracker Individual Record

Company: Wells Fargo Bank
Current Parent Company: Wells Fargo
Penalty: $100,000,000
Year: 2016
Date: September 8, 2016
Offense Group: financial offenses
Primary Offense: banking violation
Secondary Offense: consumer protection violation
Mega-Scandal: Bogus Bank Accounts
Violation Description: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fined Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. $100 million for what the bureau said was the widespread illegal practice of secretly opening unauthorized deposit and credit card accounts. Spurred by sales targets and compensation incentives, employees boosted sales figures by covertly opening more than two million accounts and funding them by transferring funds from consumers' authorized accounts without their knowledge or consent, often racking up fees or other charges. Wells Fargo was ordered to pay full restitution to all victims and a $100 million fine to the CFPB's Civil Penalty Fund.
Level of Government: federal
Action Type: agency action
Agency: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Civil or Criminal Case: civil
HQ Country of Current Parent: USA
HQ State of Current Parent: California
Ownership Structure of Current Parent: publicly traded
Major Industry of Current Parent: financial services
Specific Industry of Current Parent: banking
Source of Data: (click here)
Source Notes: If an online information source is not working, check the Violation Tracker Data Sources page for an updated link.
Current parent company note: Parent-subsidiary relationship is current as of the most recent revision listed in the Update Log.