Fake accounts scandal deepens at Wells Fargo

Former Wells Fargo chief executive John Stumpf appearing before
Congress in 2016

An independent review of the US bank Wells Fargo has revealed
that it opened 3.5 million accounts for customers who had not
requested them.

Almost a year ago it emerged that the bank had been opening
accounts without customers’ permission, but the number was thought
to be about two million.

Today’s “eye-popping figure will likely hamper the bank’s
efforts to move beyond the nearly year-long scandal as lawmakers
and regulators delve deeper into its inner workings and demand
changes,” the Washington Post reports.

The review also found that 190,000 of the fake accounts had
incurred fees and damages, and that 528,000 customers were signed
up for online bill payment without their permission.

It prompted calls for new hearings into the scandal by both the
Senate Banking Committee and the House Financial Services
Committee, over concerns that former Wells chief executive John G.
Stumpf (pictured above) had provided misleading information during
congressional hearings last September.

“If Wells misled lawmakers in its responses last year, it may
have violated a section of the United States Code [that] bars
anyone from knowingly making materially false, fictitious or
fraudulent statements or representations,” the New York Times says.