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Wells Fargo: John Stumpf apologises over illegal accounts Wells Fargo: John Stumpf apologises for illegal accounts
(35 minutes later)
The chief executive of Wells Fargo has apologised to customers for the US bank illegally opening accounts to boost sales targets, in a hearing at the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday. The chief executive of the US bank Wells Fargo has apologised to customers for illegally opening accounts to boost sales targets, in a hearing at the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday.
Bank workers had opened more than two million deposit and credit card accounts without customers' permission.
The bank was fined $185m (£142m) and accused of "widespread illegal practice" by the regulator.The bank was fined $185m (£142m) and accused of "widespread illegal practice" by the regulator.
"I am deeply sorry that we failed to fulfil our responsibility to our customers, employees and the American public," said John Stumpf. "I am deeply sorry we failed to fulfil our responsibility," said John Stumpf.
"We did not get it right." "There is no question with some of our customers we violated trust," he added.
"We never directed nor wanted our team members to provide products and services to our customers that they didn't want.
"That said, I accept full responsibility for all unethical sales practices," he said.
But Mr Stumpf has ignored calls for him to step down from his post in the wake of the scandal.
"We recognise now that we should have done more sooner to eliminate unethical conduct or incentives that may have unintentionally encouraged that conduct," he went on.
Stumpf added that although the bank "took many incremental steps…. we now know those steps were not enough".
The bank said it would be contacting every deposit customer across the country to see if their accounts were properly authorised.
It will also contact hundreds of thousands of customers with open credit cards to see of they want or need their credit cards.
In the future, confirmation emails will be sent to customers within one hour of the opening of a new deposit account.
The fine imposed on the bank by the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was the largest ever imposed by the regulator.The fine imposed on the bank by the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was the largest ever imposed by the regulator.
Its investigation found that bank workers had "illegally" signed up customers for more than two million deposit and credit card accounts.
Employees also issued debit cards without customers' knowledge, even creating fake email addresses to unknowingly sign up consumers to online banking services, the regulator said.
Wells Fargo said it set up an independent review of its sales practices dating back to 2011 and had taken "disciplinary actions, including terminations of managers and team members who acted counter to our values".
Mr Stumpf has ignored calls for him to step down from his post in the wake of the scandal.