Wells Fargo fires over 5k workers over account scandals

Wells Fargo has fired over 5,000 employees after an investigation that found “hundreds of thousands of unauthorized deposit accounts” had been opened on behalf of customers as well as “tens of thousands of credit cards without consent, according to the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office.

The bank has been fined $185 million in fines and civil penalties by city, county and federal authorities.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau estimates that more than 1.5 million deposit accounts may not have been authorized.

The Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office said in a statement that workers funded the unauthorized accounts with cash from existing accounts, allegedly to “satisfy sales goals and earn financial rewards under the bank’s incentive-compensation program,” ABC News reports.

The bank has been fined $100 million, the largest fine ever handed down by the CFPB.

Wells Fargo released the following statement:

“It is important to understand the context, the 5 year period involved and the size of our workforce,” a Wells Fargo spokesperson said. “The actions we have taken with respect to team members and managers reflect our commitment to monitoring and addressing any inappropriate sales conduct. On an annual basis, more than 100,000 team members worked in our stores, and the number terminated represents about one percent of this workforce over the five year period.

“While we regret every interaction that was not handled properly, the number of instances and team members involved represent a very small portion of our business.”

Wells Fargo said it is now sending its customers written confirmations related to new deposit accounts and credit card applications.