Wells Fargo & Co. is paying $575M to settle state-level claims about sales practices and resolves investigations into their practices stemming from 2002 to 2017. The practices include opening fake accounts, charging improper mortgage rate-lock extension fees and forcing insurance policies on auto-lending customers.
“Wells Fargo customers entrusted their bank with their livelihood, their dreams and their savings for the future,” California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement. “Instead of safeguarding its customers, Wells Fargo exploited them, signing them up for products - from bank accounts to insurance - that they never wanted.” The bank said in a statement that it had already set aside $400 million for the settlement and would take a $175 million provision in its fourth-quarter results.