CFPB reaffirms tougher stance with $3.7B Wells Fargo settlement

Wells Fargo bank

Wells Fargo will pay a total of $3.7 billion to address “widespread mismanagement” of auto loans, mortgages, and deposit accounts as part of a settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

The CFPB and Wells Fargo announced a consent order Tuesday that required the bank to pay a $1.7 billion fine and return $2 billion to millions of customers who were harmed by its alleged misconduct. The CFPB said in a press release Wells Fargo unlawfully repossessed customer vehicles, improperly denied mortgage modifications that led to wrongful foreclosures, illegally charged surprise overdraft fees, and unlawfully froze customer accounts from at least 2011 through 2022.

Labeling Wells Fargo a “corporate recidivist,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in prepared remarks the order represents the regulator’s attempt to find “a permanent resolution to this bank’s pattern of unlawful behavior.” He called the settlement “a milestone in accountability and reform of Wells Fargo.”

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