When bankers go bad: how Wells Fargo dealt with the fallout of its sales scandal
As SA grapples with a currency-rigging scandal, US pension board meetings provide a peek at the damage done to Wells Fargo’s reputation
New York — When a scandal over unauthorised accounts rocked Wells Fargo’s retail division last year, executives at its asset management arm sprang into action to limit its fallout at an already tough time for their business. A Reuters review of minutes from about two dozen state and municipal pension board meetings across the country from October to December showed Wells Fargo wealth management executives offering apologies, weighing fee cuts and emphasising their own controls on staff hiring and vetting. Joe Ready, head of Wells Fargo’s institutional retirement plan business, for example, told trustees of the city of San Diego’s defined contribution plan that participants’ $1bn in assets were walled off from other parts of Wells Fargo. Last September, the bank said it reached a settlement with the authorities over findings that its branch staff opened up to 2-million unauthorised customer accounts. "Mr Ready apologised for any inconveniences the recent incident has caused. Mr Ready...
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