In the latest blow to Wells Fargo’s efforts to rebuild its reputation after months of turmoil, the bank on Tuesday received a failing score on community lending from its federal regulator. Wells Fargo was given a “needs to improve” rating on its latest evaluation under the Community Reinvestment Act, a 1977 law intended to promote lending in low-income neighborhoods. Drawing on both public material and confidential information obtained during its review, the bank’s regulator, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, said it had uncovered “an extensive and pervasive pattern and practice of discriminatory and illegal credit practices across multiple lines of business within the bank, resulting in significant harm to large numbers of consumers.” The regulatory action came on the same day that the bank agreed to pay $110 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over its creation of unauthorized customer accounts. The bank has been under fire since its admission in September that over the course of several years, employees trying to meet aggressive sales quotas opened as many two million fraudulent accounts. The proposed settlement will cover all those who claim that Wells Fargo opened or applied for an account in their name without their consent, from 2009 to the present. Under its agreements with regulators, the bank has already refunded $3.2 million to customers who were charged fees on unauthorized accounts. The $110 million will be used for additional remediation measures, Wells Fargo said. Wells Fargo has pushed many customers seeking redress for sham accounts out of the court system and into arbitration. Wells Fargo said it had agreed to resolve those cases outside arbitration, as part of this proposed settlement, “in order to move forward and avoid continuing litigation.” The comptroller’s office criticized Wells Fargo’s creation of unauthorized accounts in its report, but it also pointed to at least nine other examples of what it called “egregious” violations by Wells Fargo that harmed borrowers. In particular, the agency said it had reason to believe that from 2004 to 2008, independent mortgage brokers working with Wells Fargo discriminated against black and Hispanic borrowers, charging them higher fees than white customers paid. In 2012, the bank agreed to pay $175 million to settle the accusations without admitting any wrongdoing. The agency also cited multiple settlements Wells Fargo had paid for violating rules on lending to members of the military. The regulator praised Wells Fargo for most of its other lending and investment activities, including the bank’s volume, geographic distribution and service delivery. On those measures, Wells Fargo received high scores — but the bank’s misdeeds were so glaring, the agency decided, that they overshadowed its achievements. Wells Fargo said it was disappointed by the rating reduction, which means it will need to clear extra regulatory hurdles to open new branches or otherwise expand its retail banking business. The low mark also often brings scrutiny from regulators and lawmakers. “We are committed to addressing the O.C.C.’s concerns,” Timothy J. Sloan, Wells Fargo’s chief executive, said in a statement. “Restoring trust in Wells Fargo and building a better bank for our customers and our communities is our top priority.” Wells Fargo’s board is preparing to release a report next month on its investigation into the bank’s sales scandal. Under pressure to hit aggressive sales goals, thousands of employees created unauthorized bank and credit card accounts in the names of real customers. Some 5,300 rank-and-file workers, and several top managers, were fired in connection with the scandal, and the bank’s longtime chief executive, John G. Stumpf, retired under pressure soon after it was revealed. The bank paid $185 million in September to settle charges brought by the Los Angeles city attorney and by federal regulators, including the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, but several criminal investigations, including an inquiry by the Justice Department, are continuing.
The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has given Wells Fargo a failing score when it comes to providing lending in low income districts. At the same time, the bank agreed to pay $100m to settle a class-action lawsuit over its creation of unauthorised customer accounts - a scandal that has been scaring off potential customers.