SAN FRANCISCO–Is the fake account scandal at Wells Fargo even bigger than has been believed? The bank was fined more than $185 million in 2016 for opening as many as 2.1 million accounts that customers had never requested, such as for checking and credit cards, as front line staff tried to meet aggressive sales goals the bank had set.
But in a new regulatory filing Wells Fargo said that as part of an expanded review there could be "an increase in the identified number of potentially impacted customers," according to Reuters.
Wells Fargo said the search for unauthorized accounts now covers a broader time frame, from 2009 to September 2016. An ongoing analysis of customer data may also be turning up more affected customers, according to Wells' annual 10-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, according to Reuters.
Wells Fargo indicated it expects to release findings from its internal review ahead of the annual meeting scheduled for April 25.
Meanwhile, Wells Fargo reported it will withhold 2016 cash bonuses from eight senior executives and seek to claw back compensation received in 2014 managers identified as responsible for the company’s bogus-account scandal.
Overall, the withheld bonuses and the clawback would represent $32 million in pay and equity awards from managers including CEO Tim Sloan and CFO John Shrewsberry, according to Bloomberg. Both Sloan and Shrewsberry took over after executives previously in the positions were released.
Wells Fargo said in a statement it reduced some equity awards by as much as 50%.
The actions, “though not related to any findings of improper behavior, are part of the board’s ongoing efforts to promote accountability and ensure Wells Fargo puts customer interests first,” Chairman Stephen Sanger said in the statement. “We will continue to work to make right what went wrong and remain focused on providing the accountability and oversight that our customers, employees, and investors expect
In 2016, Wells Fargo said former CEO John Stumpf would forfeit $41 million of stock, plus some salary. Carrie Tolstedt, who previously oversaw the community bank while employees opened the bogus accounts, gave up unvested stock valued at about $19 million and agreed not to cash in outstanding options while the board’s review is under way.