WASHINGTON–CFPB Director Richard Cordray is calling accusations his agency failed to act strongly enough against Wells Fargo over its bogus account scandal unfounded and without support.
As CUToday.info reported here, documents released by the House Financial Services Committee suggest that at one point the CFPB had determined it could pursue a $10-billion penalty against Wells Fargo before finally settling on a $100-million penalty. In all, Wells Fargo was fined $185-million by the CFPB and other entities.
After the agency was accused earlier of being “asleep at the wheel” by one congressman, Cordray sent a letter to Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) in response to the report in which he notes that the CFPB did not begin operating until July 2011, and did not have full staffing in place until 2014, while the account-opening scandal at Wells Fargo goes back to 2001.
Cordray went on to suggest that other financial regulators that were operating over that time span did not address the questionable and illegal practices.
In addition, Cordray also says in his five-page response:
- “…Claims made in the staff report that ‘the CFPB has not cooperated with the Committee’s investigation to date.’ The staff report suggests that the Consumer Bureau, and I myself, refused to brief Committee staff about the work we did on these matters. That is not what happened, and the staff report selectively mentions only some of the communications between the committee and the Consumer Bureau on this issue.”
- As to whether our investigation was ‘comprehensive,’ in my mind it was, in the sense that it thoroughly canvassed the factual and legal issues at stake in the enforcement investigation into Wells Fargo’s improper sales practices, their effects on consumers, the consequent violations of the law, and the legal relief to remedy past violations and prevent future violations,” Cordray stated.
- “Other work remains ongoing to this day, as the terms of the CFPB Order contemplated by installing an independent consultant and ensuring reporting about the implementation of compliance plans," the letter also stated.