Home / Issues / Wells Fargo unauthorized-accounts sales-practices consent orders (CFPB, OCC and City of Los Angeles, 2016)
Wells Fargo unauthorized-accounts sales-practices consent orders (CFPB, OCC and City of Los Angeles, 2016)
Settledas of 31 Oct 2026United StatesWells Fargo Bank, N.A.Wells Fargo & Companydraft
Current status
Confirmed fact · as of 8 Sep 2016
The three September 2016 civil enforcement actions were agreed and the USD 185 million in penalties plus restitution were set as binding obligations.
A Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Fines Wells Fargo $100 Million for Widespread Illegal Practice of Secretly Opening Unauthorized Accounts (8 Sep 2016) · retrieved 31 Oct 2026 · A Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, OCC Assesses Penalty Against Wells Fargo, Orders Restitution for Unsafe or Unsound Sales Practices (News Release 2016-106) (8 Sep 2016) · retrieved 31 Oct 2026
Confirmed fact · as of 8 Sep 2016
Wells Fargo publicly accepted responsibility for instances where customers received products they did not request and committed to refunds and remediation.
B Wells Fargo & Company, Wells Fargo Issues Statement on Agreements Related to Sales Practices (8 Sep 2016) · retrieved 31 Oct 2026
Unanswered question · as of 31 Oct 2026
These 2016 civil settlements were followed by further U.S. regulatory and law-enforcement actions concerning Wells Fargo sales practices in later years; those subsequent matters are outside the primary records cited in this record and are not characterised here.
Noted to prevent the 2016 settlements being read as the complete history; no later primary record is cited in this record.
Last reviewed 31 Oct 2026. An initial allegation is not the final event; this block is always shown.
How it unfolded
Issue raised · 8 Sep 2016
Proposition: That Wells Fargo Bank employees, driven by sales targets and incentive compensation, secretly opened unauthorized deposit and credit card accounts and enrolled customers in products they did not request, in some cases transferring customers' funds into the new accounts and generating fees.
Affected parties: Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, City and County of Los Angeles, Wells Fargo retail banking customers
Originating record: A Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Fines Wells Fargo $100 Million for Widespread Illegal Practice of Secretly Opening Unauthorized Accounts (8 Sep 2016) · retrieved 31 Oct 2026
Response · Wells Fargo & Company · 8 Sep 2016
Attributed claim · as of 8 Sep 2016
Wells Fargo said it reached agreements with the CFPB, OCC and the Los Angeles City Attorney over allegations that some retail customers received products and services they did not request, stating: "we regret and take responsibility for any instances where customers may have received a product that they did not request" and that the company "is committed to putting our customers' interests first 100 percent of the time." — Wells Fargo & Company
B Wells Fargo & Company, Wells Fargo Issues Statement on Agreements Related to Sales Practices (8 Sep 2016) · retrieved 31 Oct 2026
Outcome · Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and Office of the Los Angeles City Attorney · 8 Sep 2016
settlementbinding
Confirmed fact · as of 8 Sep 2016
On 8 September 2016 Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. entered coordinated civil enforcement resolutions: a CFPB consent order with a USD 100 million civil penalty, an OCC order with a USD 35 million civil money penalty, and a USD 50 million payment to the City and County of Los Angeles, totalling USD 185 million, plus full customer restitution. The CFPB stated that, consistent with the bank's own analysis, roughly 1.5 million deposit accounts and about 565,000 credit card applications may not have been authorized. These were civil regulatory settlements, not criminal convictions.
A Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Fines Wells Fargo $100 Million for Widespread Illegal Practice of Secretly Opening Unauthorized Accounts (8 Sep 2016) · retrieved 31 Oct 2026 · A Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, OCC Assesses Penalty Against Wells Fargo, Orders Restitution for Unsafe or Unsound Sales Practices (News Release 2016-106) (8 Sep 2016) · retrieved 31 Oct 2026 · B Wells Fargo & Company, Wells Fargo Issues Statement on Agreements Related to Sales Practices (8 Sep 2016) · retrieved 31 Oct 2026
Remedy: USD 100 million CFPB civil penalty to the Civil Penalty Fund; USD 35 million OCC civil money penalty to the U.S. Treasury; USD 50 million to the City and County of Los Angeles; full restitution to harmed customers; and an OCC-ordered enterprise-wide sales-practices risk management and oversight program. Restitution paid under the OCC order also satisfied the identical obligations under the CFPB and Los Angeles actions.
Appeal/review: none — The matters were resolved by consent; the primary records cite no appeal by Wells Fargo. A Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Fines Wells Fargo $100 Million for Widespread Illegal Practice of Secretly Opening Unauthorized Accounts (8 Sep 2016) · retrieved 31 Oct 2026
How to read this. Allegation, response and outcome are separate, dated records. "Decided/resolved" appears only where a cited outcome supports it. Materially affected parties can request a correction via Corrections & response.