WASHINGTON—Three former bank workers, two employed by Wells Fargo, are pointing fingers directly at upper management for what they have alleged are “unethical” techniques to improve sales numbers, including some of the practices that led to the massive $185 million in fines handed down by the regulators against Wells Fargo.
Those same workers further alleged that the big banks treat front-line staff struggling to meet rigorous sales quotas as if they were in “detention,” and that managers were told to work their teams “like dogs.”
Those allegations and others made by the workers came during a press call Monday organized by the Communications Workers of America and the Committee for Better Banks, during which they also stated that the problems brought to light by the Wells Fargo fine are “only the tip of the iceberg.” The workers claimed many more large banks employ similar tough sales practices.
“Yes, Wells Fargo is paying a big fine, but the problem goes far beyond one bank; this is an industry-wide problem that goes to the very top of all these big banks,” said a spokesperson from the Committee for Better Banks.
The Committee for Better Banks describes itself on its website as a coalition of bank workers, community and consumer advocacy groups, and labor organizations coming together to improve conditions in the bank industry.
“We work for just wages, career paths and job security for front-line bank workers,” the website states. The site does not disclose the size of the group’s membership.
Pressure From Above
Julie Miller, who worked in bank related services for almost 20 years and currently manages an insurance agency, worked in retail banking at Wachovia and Wells Fargo for 10 years. Her last banking position was as a branch manager of a Wells Fargo in Allentown, Penn.
“As a branch manager, I saw firsthand how the sales goals structure and the pressure to sell at all costs came from upper level, corporate executives,” said Miller. “Corporate executives designed the sales quota systems and created the culture of harassment and fear when we did not meet them. When (Wells Fargo CEO) John Stumpf blames the front-line workers for the unauthorized accounts, I am disgusted.”
Miller said as a branch manager she was instructed by Wells Fargo to increase her branch’s sales by more than 35% every year.
“My branch was not in a huge city or major metropolitan area, therefore, there is a finite customer base. So, where was that additional 35% supposed to come from? The only place it could come from was our existing customer base, which means selling them more products and services that were often unneeded and unwarranted. It was called the ‘Great Eight,’” she said, meaning eight products and services per customer.
Miller said that she was told by Wells Fargo district and regional management to make her personal bankers and tellers “sell, sell, sell, which often came at the cost of customer service and offering honest, sound financial advice. Bankers became so desperate to reach their sales goals—to avoid being terminated—that they would ‘churn’ accounts. This is when you close accounts and open up new ones for the same customer in order to manipulate the sales system.”
If employees working under Miller did not meet their goals, Miller was told to write them up.
“I knew it wasn’t right to push products on customers they neither needed nor wanted, so I stopped pressuring my employees to do so,” she said. “Wells Fargo came down very hard on me for not making my employees sell enough and my district manager stated, ‘Work them like dogs if you have to. Do whatever it takes. If your bankers can’t do it then make up the difference yourself.’”
'Unreasonable' Sales Quotas
Another former Wells Fargo employee, Khalid Taha, who said she worked as a personal banker at one of the bank’s locations in San Diego until July 2016, described Wells Fargo’s sales quotas as unreasonable, saying they took a huge toll on the workers.
“The branch where I worked was structured in such a way that we had to meet sales quotas every day. If I did not meet my sales goals I could get written up and risked being fired,” Taha said. “This kind of pressure meant we had to prioritize selling products, rather than just focusing on what best matched our customers’ needs. On a daily basis I had a quota of approximately 10 to 15 personal accounts, two to three new accounts, two to three credit cards and/or loans, and a daily referral for an insurance or mortgage product.”
Taha explained that despite the heavy sales goals, the pay was low, with the average teller earning about $12.40 per hour.
“It is true that Wells Fargo offered incentive bonuses for meeting high sales targets, and we really needed those bonuses to make ends meet. But the strongest incentive for meeting our sales goals was to avoid disciplinary action and termination,” he explained.
Just as the CFPB outlined in its actions when it announced its portion of the $185 million in fines, Taha alleged that rigorous sales goals hurt bank customers.
“I would constantly have customers come in saying that they could not afford the monthly maintenance fees for their checking accounts, because they were on a fixed income,” said Taha. “Wells Fargo’s solution was always focused on selling a new product, so the workers would be directed to tell the customer to open a savings account, so that they would not have to pay the maintenance fee for the checking account. This led to customers transferring money from their checking to their savings accounts. With less in the checking account, they were more likely to be hit with overdraft fees of $35 per occurrence. Instead of helping lower-income customers to avoid paying fees, Wells Fargo’s insistence on selling new products ended up taking more money out of the customer’s pocket.”
Pervasive Problem
Cassaundra Plummer, who said she formerly worked as an assistant head teller at TD Bank, called the issues a “pervasive problem throughout the banking industry.”
She said that when working at her TD Bank branch it was the “norm” to disregard customers’ needs and only focus on sales.
“My manager pushed me to only talk about the positives of products and to avoid discussing fees and the things that were negative,” she said. “He would say things like, ‘You don’t have to tell them all of this, that’s why we give them the paperwork.’ I would respond saying that no one ever reads the paperwork, and he would say, ‘Exactly.’”
Plummer said she ran into problems with her bosses when she made it clear she was uncomfortable giving advice that would harm consumers’ financial health.
“That led my manager to tell me that I wasn’t a team player. Then he retaliated against me by regularly changing my approved paid-time off, scheduling me to work all holidays and other gestures of disdain throughout the course of a day,” Plummer said.
Plummer explained that during her time at TD Bank most tellers had a goal of 1,000 to 3,000 sales points per quarter, and that most accounts provide a teller around 30-50 sales points.
“That is a lot of sales referrals. When tellers or representatives are not meeting their sales goals, management starts a progress improvement plan where they constantly observe and coach. Employees going through this plan are treated like students in detention, and many are terminated if they don’t improve.” Plummer said. “I want consumers to know that bank workers do not push products on them because they just want to make some extra money for themselves—many bank workers are worried every day that if they do not meet that sales goal, they will be fired.”
Shane Larson, legislative director with the Communications Workers of America, said that his group appreciates the Senate Banking Committee’s hearing today on the Wells Fargo matter.
“We have been working with the Senate Committee and with former bank employees like Julie, Cassaundra, and Khalid for several years trying to get regulators to pay attention to this issue,” said Larson. “Wells Fargo is trying to blame the workers, and what they are asserting is simply not true. There is no way 5,000 workers acted individually on 5,000 different transactions. These decisions came from the top, from not paying a living wage, creating financial incentives for sales and ruthlessly enforcing sales quotas.”