U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) sent a letter Tuesday to the CEO of Wells Fargo urging the bank related to address its recent issues related to risk management and minority hiring practices.
Brown, chair of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, cited a recent New York Times report that said the firm conducted fake interviews of Black and female applicants to give the impression of improving diversity. It has had risk management issues, including a scandal a few years ago before the new CEO Charles Scharf came on board, where the bank was charged with creating fake accounts.
“Recent revelations of racial disparities in mortgage lending, fake job interviews for minority and female candidates, and anti-money laundering violations are troubling as Wells Fargo, unfortunately, continues to demonstrate its inability to address its longstanding risk management failures. These recent problems add to the laundry list of consumer abuses and compliance breakdowns that led to the imposition of a growth restriction on your bank in 2018 until your firm improves its governance and controls,” Brown wrote to Scharf. “Wells Fargo’s continued inability to manage the basic requirements of serving its customers means that consumers, investors, and employees continue to pay the price. It is clear that Wells Fargo still has a long way to go to fix its governance and risk management before it should be allowed to grow in size. It is unacceptable that after years of failed attempts, nothing seems to have improved.”
Brown urged Scharf to address the governance, risk management, and hiring practices that he says have plagued the bank for almost a decade.
“Wells Fargo’s continued inability to manage the basic requirements of serving its customers means that consumers, investors, and employees continue to pay the price. It is clear that Wells Fargo still has a long way to go to fix its governance and risk management before it should be allowed to grow in size. It is unacceptable that after years of failed attempts, nothing seems to have improved. I expect you to have a plan to finally reform the firm’s risk management, internal controls, and governance structures so that your firm rights past wrongs and lives up to the many promises that Wells Fargo has made to its customers and their communities,” Brown added.