Wells Fargo Bank Has a Big Presence in Texas and Trust to Rebuild With Customers

Wells Fargo might be based in San Francisco, but it is also one of the biggest banks operating in Texas. Therefore, we've been more than a little interested in the slow rolling scandals coming out of the bank over the past two years.After digging into the issues, we have to say that Texans might want to do something that doesn't come naturally: Offer a few words of thanks to a far-off federal agency that is itself under pressure to reform, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.For all the criticism the CFPB has rightly received, it has also uncovered real problems at Wells Fargo.It all started two years ago, when it was revealed that bank employees secretly created unauthorized bank and credit card accounts. In September 2016, the CFPB hit Wells Fargo with a $185 million fine. The scandal led to the resignations of CEO John Stumpf and the executive who headed the division that created those accounts.The following year, the bank admitted to repossessing customer's cars without court orders, which is illegal. Wells Fargo also charged 570,000 customers for auto insurance they did not need and fined 110,000 mortgage holders for missing a deadline to lock in promised interest rates when the bank was at fault for the delays. It was the latter two missteps that recently led the CFPB and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to prepare a $1 billion fine for the bank.  Continue reading...