Teken Posted September 29, 2016 Share Posted September 29, 2016 I've been watching with great interest the unfolding events of the Wells Fargo scam. As of this writing some of the people at the top have decided to step down and retire while others have finally decided to give back the millions of dollars of bonuses and salaries. Of special interest is California's proactive stance and measures they have decided to take action on behalf of the general public. Its safe to say CA has almost always lead the market and world in many fronts. It can be debated whether or not some of these rules, laws, policies made sense or even benefited the end users given they are the epitome of a *Nanny State*. Regardless, take some time to view the entire video and news article about the scam this bank decided to place on their customers. http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/28/investing/wells-fargo-california-treasurer-suspends/ The state of California is firing back at Wells Fargo by slapping the bank with sanctions over the fake-account scandal.California Treasurer John Chiang announced on Wednesday that his office is suspending lucrative elements of its business relationship with San Francisco-based Wells Fargo (WFC) for the next year. "These banks must learn they are not so powerful as to be untouchable," Chiang said during a press conference. Powered by SmartAsset.com SAVINGS RATES BY The suspension means the state will not use the bank as a broker-dealer for investments by his office. Wells Fargo will be banned from underwriting the sales of California bonds. And Chiang's office will not purchase more Wells Fargo stocks and bonds beyond what it already owns. The move by Chiang, who essentially serves as California's banker, deals a big blow to Wells Fargo. Working with California is considered a plum assignment, given the Treasurer's massive $75 billion investment pool and the fact that it's the largest issuer of municipal debt in the U.S. However, California has essentially been ground zero for the fake account scandal. The LA Times first broke news of the opening of unauthorized accounts in 2013 and the recent investigation that led to national outrage was led by the Los Angeles City Attorney. Related: Elizabeth Warren is still furious with Wells Fargo boss Chiang said the scandal reflects "reckless lack of institutional control and, at worst, a culture which actively promotes wanton greed." Chiang, a Democrat who is running for California governor in 2018, said he believes Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf should resign after his "incredibly disheartening" appearance last week before U.S. Senators. The California Treasurer is also pushing Wells Fargo to strip Stumpf of his chairman title, push back more of his pay and those of other executives linked to the scandal and develop an anonymous ethics reporting process and whistleblower protection program. CNNMoney reported earlier this month that some Wells Fargo workers were fired after they called the bank's ethics line to flag illegal sales tactics that were taking place. The U.S. Labor Department has since said it's reviewing both open and closed whistleblower complaints against Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo, California's oldest financial institution, responded to the sanctions by saying it will work with California to "rebuild your trust." "We are very sorry and take full responsibility for the incidents in our retail bank," the company said in an emailed statement. Chiang warned Wells Fargo that if it fails to live up to the settlement it reached with regulators, the bank will face tougher sanctions including a "complete and permanent severance" of all ties with the Treasurer's Office. California has previously taken action against specific banks. Last year, Chiang's office bannedHSBC's (HSBC) U.S. subsidiary from the California's $6.5 billion deposit program due to money laundering and tax evasion allegations. The most recent news of the CEO being pressured to give back bonuses and stocks do to the scam his bank placed on unsuspecting customers: http://fortune.com/2016/09/29/wells-fargo-john-stumpf-pay/ Best video of the CEO getting a club over the head for his disgraceful leadership: Wells Fargo, shame on you . . . Link to comment
TrojanHorse Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Good synopsis. I thought this picture also summed it up pretty well http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user3303/imageroot/2016/09/28/20160929_wells1.jpg Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment
stusviews Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Wells Fargo - Worst bank in America?Nope. Just the first one caught. And there's some legislators that want to disband the catchers completely. Their reason--the catchers didn't find them sooner. Hooray for Californiay Link to comment
Teken Posted September 30, 2016 Author Share Posted September 30, 2016 Wells Fargo - Worst bank in America? Nope. Just the first one caught. And there's some legislators that want to disband the catchers completely. Their reason--the catchers didn't find them sooner. Hooray for Californiay True, perhaps not the worst bank in history when people reflect back how the whole housing crisis bubble came to be. Here is another recent news article from the New York Times: WASHINGTON — He is forfeiting at least $41 million in pay. He vows that his bank will drop its sales incentive program — blamed for prompting bankers to set up illegal and unauthorized bank and credit card accounts to meet their sales goals — by the end of the week, not in January, as he had previously promised. But at a hearing Thursday before the House Financial Services Committee, nobody was impressed. If anything, the House lawmakers who interrogated John G. Stumpf, the chief executive of Wells Fargo, were even angrier and more hostile than their Senate counterparts who questioned him last week, before either of those steps had been taken. One by one, Democrats and Republicans alike took turns ripping apart Mr. Stumpf and what took place at the bank he leads. They denounced the actions as “theft,” “a criminal enterprise,” identity fraud, an outrage and a devastating blow to the entire banking industry. But that was not all of Wells Fargo’s bad news for the day. Also on Thursday, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency fined Wells Fargo $20 million for violating rules on lending to members of the military, including a rate cap on how much interest can be charged to service members on active duty. In a separate action, Wells Fargo agreed to pay $4 million to resolve a Justice Department investigation into improper seizures of vehicles owned by soldiers who fell behind on their loans. “In those instances where some service members did not receive the appropriate benefits and protections, we did not live up to our commitment and we apologize,” the company said in a statement. “We have been notifying and fully compensating customers and will complete this work in 60 days.” The news did not play well with members of the House committee, who spent more than four hours on Thursday questioning and castigating Mr. Stumpf about the misdeeds under his leadership. Continue reading the main story RELATED COVERAGE interactive What Wells Fargo’s C.E.O. Told Congress SEPT. 29, 2016 California Suspends Ties With Wells Fargo SEPT. 28, 2016 House Panel Questions Fed Chief on Wells Fargo Scandal SEPT. 28, 2016 FAIR GAME By Taking Back Money, Wells Fargo’s Board Seems to Recall Its Role SEPT. 27, 2016 Wells Fargo to Claw Back $41 Million of Chief’s Pay Over Scandal SEPT. 27, 2016 “It appears that the company just can’t make it through even this congressional hearing without us learning more and more information about what is going on at Wells Fargo,” Representative Maxine Waters, a Democrat of California, said as word began to spread of the coming sanctions over military lending. But Mr. Stumpf — whom the members of the House committee personally blamed for the persistent and widespread misdeeds — stuck to the same script he has used throughout the crisis. The problem, he explained, was an ethical lapse among the 5,300 employees, most of them low-level bankers and tellers, who had been fired for their actions since 2011. At the hearing on Thursday, Mr. Stumpf apologized repeatedly for his bank’s failings and repeated his earlier pledge — given last week to the disgruntled Senate Finance Committee — to accept “full responsibility” for them. But he again rejected lawmakers’ attempts to cast the scandal as a consequence of broader failings in Wells Fargo’s leadership and corporate culture. “I led the company with courage,” Mr. Stumpf said, while admitting that the company “should have done more sooner” to address the problem of unauthorized accounts being created by employees in the names of real customers. To think this bank or any others would try to scam those in the military. Who place their lives in harms way for our liberties. Wells Fargo, shame on you . . . Link to comment
Teken Posted September 30, 2016 Author Share Posted September 30, 2016 Direct link to thieving ways of this so called bank: http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/29/news/wells-fargo-servicemembers-cars/ Wells Fargo will pay $24 million to settle allegations that it mistreated members of the military -- including illegally repossessing their cars.The bank, already reeling from a scandal over fake accounts, will pay $4.1 million to settle Justice Department charges that it seized 413 cars owned by service members without a court order, a violation of federal law. The Justice Department said the illegal repossessions took place from 2008 to 2015. The first complaint came from an Army National Guardsman in North Carolina who said the bank seized his car while he was preparing to deploy to Afghanistan. Wells Fargo then auctioned his car and tried to collect a balance of $10,000 from his family, the Justice Department said. The bank will pay $10,000 to each of the affected service members, plus lost equity in the cars with interest, and repair their credit. Related: Wells Fargo worker retaliation claims rile up Congress The bank was fined $20 million more by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for breaking three provisions of the same law by denying members of the military certain banking protections, including capping their interest rates at 6%. Those violations began in 2006, the OCC said. Wells Fargo said in a statement that it apologizes for not living up to its commitment of ensuring that all service members "receive the appropriate benefits and protections." "We have been notifying and fully compensating customers and will complete this work in 60 days," the company said. Related: Lawmakers say Wells Fargo is like a 'criminal enterprise' News of the penalties came as Wells Fargo and CEO John Stumpf faced the wrath of the House Financial Services Committee at a hearing about the millions of fake bank and credit card accounts, plus claims that it retaliated against whistleblowers. The company is also facing lawsuits from shareholders, former employees and customers. Link to comment
kohai Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 I find it hypocritical for our politicians to try hold WF or their CEOs accountable beyond the fines when our own politicians don't take accountability for their own actions (either party). They push for people to resign but when our politicians screw up, lie, cheat, have affairs, etc, they won't step down and often we re-elect them. Hypocrites. Link to comment
Teken Posted October 1, 2016 Author Share Posted October 1, 2016 I find it hypocritical for our politicians to try hold WF or their CEOs accountable beyond the fines when our own politicians don't take accountability for their own actions (either party). They push for people to resign but when our politicians screw up, lie, cheat, have affairs, etc, they won't step down and often we re-elect them. Hypocrites. Agreed, but we all know the game they all play. Throw a few morsels to calm the natives so we believe that pound of flesh has been taken. As Stu noted WF isn't the first or will be the last in similar disgraceful practices. It just really shocks me to read 5300 people actually lost their jobs because they were forced to complete the goals and tasks from senior management. Ultimately, its the lack of moral compass, integrity, and character in our society. BSG: So say we all . . . Link to comment
Scottmichaelj Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 Agreed, but we all know the game they all play. Throw a few morsels to calm the natives so we believe that pound of flesh has been taken. As Stu noted WF isn't the first or will be the last in similar disgraceful practices. It just really shocks me to read 5300 people actually lost their jobs because they were forced to complete the goals and tasks from senior management. Ultimately, its the lack of moral compass, integrity, and character in our society. BSG: So say we all . . . I was in the banking industry and left for this very reason. Instead of helping people banks force them into crap they don't need. Horrible. Glad they got caught but they are not the only ones. I saw so many bad creditors get car loans then were gouged (putting it nicely) in interest and late payments that they could never get ahead. The whole thing was designed to take advantage of them. Glad I left and never looked back. One of the banks I did work for went out of of biz after 40 years during the housing market crash. They deserved it! Link to comment
larryllix Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 In Canada, years back people just took the banks to court for overselling them and won. Now the banks have strict guidelines of how much your gross debt ratio can be and how much each individual debt ratio can be. Trouble is these calculations involve short lived interest rates that change occasionally. Link to comment
Teken Posted October 1, 2016 Author Share Posted October 1, 2016 Canada isn't immune to similar aszz hattery but nothing on this scale has ever been seen. RBC a number of years ago was found guilty of various excessive charges and related scams. CIBC too was caught doing some really odd breaches of privacy and security with respect to user data. Link to comment
G W Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 All banks have this problem. Wells Fargo employees went too far. Now employees of other banks are being looked at. If the powers-that-be in the US think Wells Fargo is the only bank, those powers are as stupid as we think. Best regards, Gary Funk Link to comment
Teken Posted October 13, 2016 Author Share Posted October 13, 2016 Well it looks to be public shaming actually worked out in this mess. Wells Fargo chief John Stumpf retires in wake of fake account scandal Stumpf will receive no severance payment for retirement which comes a month after $185m settlement with US regulators over illegal sales practices John Stumpf was to forgo his salary while Wells Fargo was conducting an internal investigation into its retail banking and sales practices. Wells Fargo’s chief executive and chairman, John Stumpf, is retiring effective immediately from both the bank and the board in the wake of the scandal over its sales practices. Stumpf “will not receive any severance payment”, a Wells Fargo spokeswoman confirmed to the Guardian. The bank announced the news on Wednesday after a volatile month for the bank. Early in September, Wells Fargo announced that it had reached a $185m settlement with US regulators for its illegal sales practices. Since 2011 the bank fired more than 5,300 employees for opening more than 2m accounts without customers’ permission. The former employees opened these unauthorized accounts to meet the sales quotas imposed by the company. Analysis Wells Fargo banking scandal a financial crisis we can finally understand Only insiders could decode 2008’s fallout, but the bank’s latest offense is a clear example of what Americans face – and one regulators will be forced to address Read more Since then, Stumpf has testified before both House and Senate and said that the fired employees were not part of an “orchestrated effort”. As of 1 October, Wells Fargo hasterminated the practice of setting sales quotas in its retail banking. US lawmakers, including Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, have called on Stumpf to resign, return his earnings and submit to a criminal investigation. “You should resign,” Warren told Stumpf last month. “You should give back the money that you took while this scam was going on, and you should be criminally investigated by both the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission.” By the end of September, the Wells Fargo board announced that it was launching a new investigation into its retail banking and sales practices. Stumpf was to forgo his salary while the investigation was ongoing; in 2015 he made about $19.3m. Stumpf also forfeited about $41m in unvested equity awards in the aftermath of the scandal. “While I have been deeply committed and focused on managing the company through this period, I have decided it is best for the company that I step aside. I know no better individual to lead this company forward than Tim Sloan,” Stumpfsaid in a statement. Stumpf has been with the company for 34 years and became CEO in June 2007 and chairman in 2010. Tim Sloan, Wells Fargo’s president and chief operating officer, will take over as chief executive. Sloan, who has been with the bank for 29 years, will retain the title of the president. He was also elected to the bank’s board. Stephen Sanger, the Wells Fargo board’s lead director, was elected to serve as the board’s non-executive chairman. When Stumpf testified before the US House of Representatives, lawmakers pressed him on whether he thought it was appropriate for one person to serve as both the chief executive and the chairman. “For our company, I believe we have the right structure. I serve at the will of the board and the board can make a decision about that,” Stumpf said at the time. He told the lawmakers that he was dedicating all his energy to leading Wells Fargo and that he spent all of his waking hours thinking about it. Within an hour of the announcement, Wells Fargo shares went up up 1.6% in after-hours trading. Wells Fargo is scheduled to report its third-quarter earnings on Friday. Stumpf chose to retire so as not to be a distraction, said Sloan, the new chief executive in an interview with CNBC. When asked if he felt that Stumpf’s departure was a necessary condition in order for the bank to move forward, he said: “John did.” He went on to say that the bank will not allow the past five weeks to define it. Link to comment
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