Wells Fargo announced on Thursday that one of its primary regulators has lifted a key penalty related to its 2016 fake accounts scandal. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency terminated a consent order that required the bank to overhaul its retail product and service sales.
Following this news, Wells Fargo’s shares surged more than 6%. Since 2019, the bank, under the leadership of CEO Charlie Scharf, has retired six consent orders, with eight more still in place, including one from the Federal Reserve that limits the bank’s asset size.
In a memo to employees, Scharf described the development as a ‘milestone’ for the bank. The 2016 fake accounts scandal, which saw the bank admitting to creating over 3 million unauthorized accounts for customers, led to increased scrutiny, uncovering issues related to mortgage and auto loan servicing. The fallout from the scandal tarnished the bank’s reputation and resulted in the departure of both ex-CEO John Stumpf in 2016 and his successor Tim Sloan in 2019.
Commenting on the OCC’s action, Scharf stated, ‘It is our responsibility to ensure we continue to operate with these disciplines.’