Wells Fargo fired 5,300 workers for improper sales push. The executive in charge is retiring with $

[EricMaundry]

Source: Washington Post

When Wells Fargo was hit last week with $185 million in fines after thousands of its employees were caught setting up fake accounts customers didn't ask for, regulators heralded the settlement as a breakthrough.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau noted that the $100 million it will collect as part of the deal was the agency's "largest penalty" ever. The head of Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a banking regulator, said its $35 million penalty would "demonstrate that such practices will not be tolerated and banks will be held responsible.” “This is a major victory for consumers,” said Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer, touting the $50 million the city extracted from the bank.

But the fines being levied against Wells Fargo pale in comparison to the bank's yearly profit -- more than $20 billion in 2015.

It is also less than the more than $200 million that the stock in the company held by company's chief executive, John G. Stumpf is worth. The fines also are not that much more than the $125 million one of its top executives, Carrie Tolstedt, will walk away with when she retires this year. An 27-year veteran of the bank, Tolstedt ran the community banking division where regulators said aggressive sales goals fueled illegal behavior by bank employees,

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/09/13/wells-fargo-fired-5300-workers-for-illegal-sales-push-executive-in-charge-retiring-with-125-million/?tid%3Dpm_business_pop_b

[turbinetree]

1. They should forfeit the pay, pay a 95% capital gains tax on the stock instead of 15%

and lets not forget that this agency is what the republicans and the elites want to dismantle, if they have complete power in all branches of the government

[Beaverhausen]

2. Why no criminal charges?

This is nuts.

[Dustlawyer]

3. Campaign contributions/bribes!

[packman]

4. Posted earlier

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10028160632

[FailureToCommunicate]

5. Can't they try some 'claw back?'

This is nuts.

Did I mention I despise Wells Fargo? They hold our mortgage (at least the last time I checked...)

[Dems to Win]

6. Tough to convince Occupy Wall Streeters to vote for this status quo

If this is the very best we can expect from a Democratic White House and DOJ and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, I'm quite disheartened.

5300 low wage employees get fired, the government gets a pittance as a fine, the executives who set up the system are rolling in money and free as birds, and the victims get no restitution for the time they had to spend trying to repair their credit rating.

No justice, no fairness.

[GeorgeGist]

9. Dems are masters

of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

[McKim]

7. Cancelled My Acct. Long Ago

I cancelled my accts. there long ago because Well Fargo has huge corporate tax breaks in Oregon. I love my credit union!

[allan01]

8. again , the too big to fail and too big to prosocute banks get away with bullshit

[Xolodno]

10. Did a short internship at B of A.

Left after about a month an a half...conscience was bothering me.

They were pushing the Tellers to do "sales" on "free" checking. It was "free" if you used the ATM for your banking needs instead of the Teller inside. If you used the Teller then you got charged.

So if you didn't have a lot of "sales", they had a tendency to cut back your hours. But if you did your job and pushed people to "free" checking, you were also pushing yourself out of a job for a cheap bonus if you had the highest sales. Getting your own employee's to eliminate their own jobs. Amazing.

I'm guessing the pressure to "sell" at Wells Fargo must have been intense if it was this wide spread. And I'm sure the higher ups knew about it, but turned a blind eye.

Never opened an account with a big commercial bank since, I'll stick to my credit union.