WASHINGTON—The Senate Banking Committee intends to question Wells Fargo Chairman and CEO John Stumpf during a Sept. 20 hearing about CFPB charges that thousands of the bank's employees secretly opened accounts and enrolled customers in services without their consent.
Five Democratic Senators on Monday had pressed for a hearing, including wanting testimony from the Wells Fargo’s chairman and CEO, in addition to CFPB Director Richard Cordray, Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry and Los Angeles County Attorney Mike Feuer, the National Law Journal reported. The publication added that the Senate Banking Committee, which plans to formally announce the hearing Tuesday with more details, did not immediately issue a witness list.
Wells Fargo has agreed to pay $185 million in total fines, which includes restitution to victims, a $100-million fine to the CFPB’s Civil Penalty Fund, a $35-million penalty to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and another $50 million to the City and County of Los Angeles.
The bank has also fired more than 5,000 employees who were involved in the scheme. CUToday.info has coverage here.
In a letter to U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), chairman of the Senate banking committee, the group of Democrats led by New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) said “the magnitude of this situation warrants thorough and comprehensive review.”
“Specifically, the committee should thoroughly examine this issue, including: how it is possible that more than 5,000 employees could bilk customers over the course of five years; the timing, extent, and disposition of customer complaints; whether Wells Fargo’s sales and compensation structure incentivized employees to engage in deceptive and abusive practices; and what additional safeguards may be needed to prevent this type of behavior,” the senators wrote in their letter.