Wells Fargo

Improved Essays
For over a hundred years, Wells Fargo has been a lead provider of both personal and business banking. Financial services including insurance, credit cards, mortgage and investments are offered through the company. According to the 2015 Wells Fargo CSR plan, two of their core principles include putting customers first and valuing their team members. However, in 2011, allegations against Wells Fargo began to accumulate that employees were reportedly opening fraudulent accounts and credit cards against customer’s knowledge and consent. Minimal efforts were taken to immediately address the situation, and it continued to occur for an additional four years. In September of 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) imposed the largest …show more content…
Their wrongdoing has left other banks with the responsibility of maintaining trust with their current customers as well as previous Wells Fargo’s customers. Due to their actions, compensation regulations are under scrutiny and may be changed in the near future. Wells Fargo was the leading bank in cross selling. After scrutiny from the public and demanded fines from CFPB, the idea of cross-selling products plummeted because it became risky to do so. In spite of the negative risks that Wells Fargo brought forth, there were also areas of opportunity for other banks during their downfall. With the potential for a surplus amount of new customers, it was crucial for banks to stand out and show the public why their bank was substantially different than Wells Fargo, what it could possibly offer and why it should be trusted to handle all of their financial needs. And although unfavorable to the public, there were approaches to cross-selling products that may be found to be profitable if executed with strategy. Competitors of Wells Fargo may have been left to rectify the situation they created, but nonetheless benefitted from their period of …show more content…
An approximated $32 billion dollars is accumulated annually in fees including overdrafts, late fees, and fines. Wells Fargo abused their ability to handle personal finances by targeting individuals that would not find it necessary to have multiple accounts with them. This made low-income men and women and the working class more susceptible to the scandal. Many bankers did not find the news of the scandal to be shocking the least bit. In fact, they found similarities in their companies. CNN money stated the problem to be industry-wide, with competitors vigorously pushing sales to meet a quota and often not accepting ‘No’ for an answer. Nonetheless, Wells Fargo went above and beyond their competitors by deliberately putting their customers in a predicament that cost them money and potentially lowered their credit scores. Unfortunately, this is not the first time the bank has benefitted at the consumer’s expense. Wells Fargo changed the order of transactions in people’s accounts to maximize overdraft fees according to an attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. In addition, they are in the top 3 banks regarding foreclosure in the United States closing over $17.5 billion dollars worth of

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