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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (May 30, 2018)
Page 8 The Skanner May 30, 2018 News By Dr. John E. Warren San Diego Voice and Viewpoint/NNPA Member A s federal agencies expand their in- vestigation into the business prac- tices of Wells Fargo & Company, the fines and penalties for the finan- cial services institution, with $1.9 trillion in as- sets, continue to rise. While many saw the news about the $1 billion fine against Wells Fargo, the real story was not in the amount of the fine, but rather who fined the bank and why. The Office of the Comp- troller of the Currency (OCC) assessed a $500 million penalty against Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. “and ordered the bank to make restitution to customers harmed by its unsafe or unsound prac- tices, and develop and implement an effective enterprise-wide compli- ance risk management program,” according to a press release about the fine. The press release continued: “The OCC’s action was closely coor- dinated with an action by the Consumer Finan- cial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which through a separate and collabora- tive approach assessed a $1 billion penalty against the bank and credited the amount collected by the OCC toward the satisfac- tion of its fine.” The press release said that, “The OCC took these actions given the sever- ity of the deficiencies and violations of law, the financial harm to con- sumers, and the bank’s failure to correct the de- ficiencies and violations in a timely manner.” The OCC found that the bank had violated Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act. The OCC also report- ed that Wells Fargo, “engaged in unsafe and unsound practices relat- ing to improper place- ment and maintenance of collateral protection insurance policies on auto loan accounts and improper fees associat- ed with interest rate lock extensions,” the press re- lease said. “The OCC pen- alty will be paid to the U.S. Treasury.” The order also modi- fies restrictions placed on the bank in Novem- ber 2016 relating to the approval of severance FREDDIE ALLEN/AMG/NNPA Government Agency Hits Wells Fargo with $500 Million Penalty the original Social Media NEWS The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) assessed a $500 million penalty against Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. “and ordered the bank to make restitution to customers harmed by its unsafe or unsound practices.” payments to employees and the appointment of senior executive officers or board members, the press release said. The press release con- tinued: “The original re- strictions related to sev- erance payments applied to all employees, which unnecessarily delayed severance payments to employees who were not responsible for the bank’s deficiencies or vi- olations.” This article was origi- nally published in the San Diego Voice and View- point, a member publi- cation of the National Newspaper Publishers As- sociation (NNPA).
