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Wells Fargo is the worst repeat offender in American consumer financial services. There should be serious discussions around withdrawing their banking license.

by runako 4y ago

Wells Fargo is the worst repeat offender in American consumer financial services. There should be serious discussions around withdrawing their banking license. It's incredibly difficult to get a banking license in this country, and it does not serve the public good to have this predatory institution operating under the aegis of the American government. Pull their license, let some new entrants into the market.

bob1029 4y ago
I agree their charter should effectively be revoked at this point. A de novo bank (i.e. being granted a new charter) is a near impossibility in the US. Something this difficult to obtain should be just as easy to lose. Unfortunately, the FDIC can't just waltz in and shut down the whole damn bank without causing a nation-wide panic attack. Similar to failed banks, something like this would need to be dealt with using a special procedure to prevent bank runs. I think the best course of action would be to vacate the Wells Fargo board (and all officers), replacing them with members sourced from other US financial institutions.
- actionablefiber 4y ago
  > Similar to failed banks, something like this would need to be dealt with using a special procedure to prevent bank runs. You could, I suppose, use exactly the same procedure you use for a failed bank, which is force them to auction off their assets and liabilities, rolling their depositors into other, better-behaved banks.
- snake_doc 4y ago
  De novo banks open all the time. 13 new de novo started business in 2022 [1] New management is important, and in this case Wells Fargo has had 4 CEOs since the scandal, and multiple board chairpersons. There has been significant turnover on its board and executive team. [2] [1] https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/new-bank-charter-applications-of-2022-bessemer-trust-co-of-nevada-aarbank-72604097 https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights... [2] https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/wells-fargos-long-road-repair-extends-with-prospect-more-penalties-2021-09-01/ https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/wells-fargos-long-r...
  - runako 4y ago
    > De novo banks open all the time. 13 new de novo started business in 2022 In a $25T economy, 13 new banks (roughly 1 for every 4 states) effectively rounds down to zero. There is a trivial amount of new bank creation relative to the size and dynamism of our country and economy. In a more liberal banking regime, one could easily imagine 2022 having seen 13 new banks chartered in the northern half of California alone.
    - snake_doc 4y ago
      >In a $25T economy, 13 new banks (roughly 1 for every 4 states) effectively rounds down to zero. Using this logic, in an infinitely large universe, your comment’s importance effectively rounds down to zero. Arbitrary picking economy output to measure regulatory regime efficiency is ludicrous.
sitkack 4y ago
Who went to jail for these crimes? People lost their houses and their transportation to work. I am all for a corporate death penalty.
- jimt1234 4y ago
  Can't we just "put these issues behind us"? Sheesh. </sarcasm>
  - theossuary 4y ago
    There's a really interesting video from philosophy tube which touches on a lot of these topics, albiet throught the lense of trans health through the NIH. A lot of the research she discusses is very relevant though. https://youtu.be/v1eWIshUzr8 https://youtu.be/v1eWIshUzr8
shusaku 4y ago
Whenever I read these stories I think of equifax. I’m sure that settlement check will be here any day /s
thefourthchime 4y ago
As Clark Howard has been saying forever: “Wells Fargo is a criminal enterprise masquerading as a bank”
JoeOfTexas 4y ago
I have been receiving emails from them about a phantom account. It seems legit, but I tried calling their official number to commandeer any accounts, they customer service rep tells me it doesn't exist. Funny enough, about a decade ago, there was an actual account created that I was able to shutdown. Shady.

by runako 4y ago

bob1029 4y ago

I agree their charter should effectively be revoked at this point. A de novo bank (i.e. being granted a new charter) is a near impossibility in the US. Something this difficult to obtain should be just as easy to lose. Unfortunately, the FDIC can't just waltz in and shut down the whole damn bank without causing a nation-wide panic attack. Similar to failed banks, something like this would need to be dealt with using a special procedure to prevent bank runs. I think the best course of action would be to vacate the Wells Fargo board (and all officers), replacing them with members sourced from other US financial institutions.

actionablefiber 4y ago
> Similar to failed banks, something like this would need to be dealt with using a special procedure to prevent bank runs. You could, I suppose, use exactly the same procedure you use for a failed bank, which is force them to auction off their assets and liabilities, rolling their depositors into other, better-behaved banks.
snake_doc 4y ago
De novo banks open all the time. 13 new de novo started business in 2022 [1] New management is important, and in this case Wells Fargo has had 4 CEOs since the scandal, and multiple board chairpersons. There has been significant turnover on its board and executive team. [2] [1] https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/new-bank-charter-applications-of-2022-bessemer-trust-co-of-nevada-aarbank-72604097 https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights... [2] https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/wells-fargos-long-road-repair-extends-with-prospect-more-penalties-2021-09-01/ https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/wells-fargos-long-r...
- runako 4y ago
  > De novo banks open all the time. 13 new de novo started business in 2022 In a $25T economy, 13 new banks (roughly 1 for every 4 states) effectively rounds down to zero. There is a trivial amount of new bank creation relative to the size and dynamism of our country and economy. In a more liberal banking regime, one could easily imagine 2022 having seen 13 new banks chartered in the northern half of California alone.
  - snake_doc 4y ago
    >In a $25T economy, 13 new banks (roughly 1 for every 4 states) effectively rounds down to zero. Using this logic, in an infinitely large universe, your comment’s importance effectively rounds down to zero. Arbitrary picking economy output to measure regulatory regime efficiency is ludicrous.

sitkack 4y ago

Who went to jail for these crimes? People lost their houses and their transportation to work. I am all for a corporate death penalty.

jimt1234 4y ago
Can't we just "put these issues behind us"? Sheesh. </sarcasm>
- theossuary 4y ago
  There's a really interesting video from philosophy tube which touches on a lot of these topics, albiet throught the lense of trans health through the NIH. A lot of the research she discusses is very relevant though. https://youtu.be/v1eWIshUzr8 https://youtu.be/v1eWIshUzr8

shusaku 4y ago

Whenever I read these stories I think of equifax. I’m sure that settlement check will be here any day /s

thefourthchime 4y ago

As Clark Howard has been saying forever: “Wells Fargo is a criminal enterprise masquerading as a bank”

JoeOfTexas 4y ago

I have been receiving emails from them about a phantom account. It seems legit, but I tried calling their official number to commandeer any accounts, they customer service rep tells me it doesn't exist. Funny enough, about a decade ago, there was an actual account created that I was able to shutdown. Shady.