Wells Fargo scandals: A timeline of federal penalties

Wells Fargo has endured multiple federal penalties for a range of scandals including the creation of fake customer accounts, mishandling mortgages, and flaws in auto lending. The bank has paid billions in fines, such as a $1 billion penalty in 2018 for improper mortgage and auto-loan practices, and a $3.7 billion order from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for mismanaging customer accounts and loans.

Issues also extend to failures in timely filing anti-money laundering reports and violating U.S. sanction rules, as seen in the $7 million SEC fine and a $97 million settlement in 2023. Customer harm includes hundreds losing homes due to mortgage modification errors, and the bank has faced discrimination settlements for unfair hiring practices against Black and female applicants.

NO. 1: NEW PENALTIES IMPOSED ON WELLS FARGO BY FEDERAL RESERVE

The The Federal Reserve announced Friday it is imposing more penalties on Wells Fargo, freezing the bank’s growth until it can prove it has improved its internal controls. | Published February 3, 2018 | Read Full Story by Martin Crutsinger

NO. 2: WELLS FARGO FACES ANOTHER HUGE FINE FOR AUTO, MORTGAGE ISSUES

Wells Fargo is preparing for as much as $1 billion in civil fines from two regulators, in what would be the largest penalties yet against the bank for its sales practices. | Published April 13, 2018 | Read Full Story by Deon Roberts

NO. 3: WELLS FARGO FINED MORE THAN $2 BILLION FOR MORTGAGE ABUSES

The U.S. | Published August 1, 2018 | Read Full Story by Deon Roberts

NO. 4: AFTER WELLS FARGO ERROR, FRUSTRATED CUSTOMERS WONDER: DID IT COST ME MY HOME?

When the economy tanked in the Great Recession a decade ago, Diana Johnson and her husband struggled to make payments on a Wells Fargo mortgage for her home in upstate New York that she ultimately lost. | Published August 10, 2018 | Read Full Story by Deon Roberts

NO. 5: WELLS FARGO AGREES TO PAY $575 MILLION TO RESOLVE STATE INVESTIGATIONS

Wells Fargo will pay $575 million to resolve investigations by all 50 states and Washington, D.C., into a range of practices, the latest chapter in the bank’s long-running legal problems. | Published December 28, 2018 | Read Full Story by Stacy Cowley and Emily Flitter

Wells Fargo hired David Owen as its chief administrative officer starting June 24, adding another former JP Morgan Chase executive to CEO Charlie Scharf’s team

NO. 6: WELLS FARGO FINED AGAIN. THIS TIME THE BANK OWES $35 MILLION OVER INVESTMENT ADVICE

The SEC said the bank advised clients to invest in risky funds, which could result in large losses, including for seniors and retirees. | Published February 28, 2020 | Read Full Story by Danielle Chemtob

The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that it would “temporarily and narrowly” relax the size cap it placed on Wells Fargo so the bank could make more federal stimulus loans to small-businesses.

NO. 7: FED RELAXES GROWTH CAP TO LET WELLS FARGO MAKE MORE SMALL-BUSINESS STIMULUS LOANS

The move comes after small businesses who banked with Wells Fargo reported that they were having difficultly getting the loans at other banks. | Published April 8, 2020 | Read Full Story by Austin Weinstein

Wells Fargo agreed to pay $7.8 million in back wages to settle allegations from the U.S. Department of Labor that it discriminated against Black and female job applicants.

NO. 8: WELLS FARGO TO PAY NEARLY $8 MILLION TO RESOLVE HIRING DISCRIMINATION ACCUSATIONS

The bank, which has its largest employment hub in Charlotte, allegedly discriminated against nearly 35,000 Black and female job applicants | Published August 25, 2020 | Read Full Story by Danielle Chemtob

James Strother, the former general counsel of Wells Fargo, agreed to a $3.5 million fine with federal regulators on Friday for his role in the San Francisco bank’s fake accounts scandal.

NO. 9: WELLS FARGO ADVISORS SETTLES SEC ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING VIOLATION CHARGES FOR $7 MILLION

The violations “deprive regulators of timely information about possible money laundering, terrorist financing, or other illegal money movements,” the SEC said. | Published May 23, 2022 | Read Full Story by Hannah Lang

Wells Fargo is anticipating more reductions in 2024.

NO. 10: WELLS FARGO FINED $97 MILLION FOR ‘RECKLESS DISREGARD’ OF U.S. SANCTION RULES

Federal authorities say the Wachovia-era problem allowed transactions to skirt sanctions against Iran, Syria and Sudan. | Published March 31, 2023 | Read Full Story by Julia Coin

Wells Fargo, a financial institution with a large employment base in Charlotte, reported a net income of $3.4 billion for the 2023 fourth-quarter period. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

NO. 11: WELLS FARGO FEDERAL CONSENT ORDER ENDS. IT COVERED MORTGAGE, OTHER ACCOUNT ‘MISMANAGEMENT’

In 2022, the CFPB had ordered the bank to pay $3.7 billion for ‘widespread’ problems with its auto loans, mortgages and deposit accounts. | Published January 28, 2025 | Read Full Story by Catherine Muccigrosso Adam Bell

The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.