These
companies are trying to win back your trust
Wells Fargo has agreed to pay a $2.09 billion fine for issuing mortgage loans it knew contained incorrect income information, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.
The
government said this activity contributed to the financial
crisis.
"Today's
agreement holds Wells Fargo responsible for originating and
selling tens of thousands of loans that were packaged into
securities and subsequently defaulted," Alex Tse, acting US
Attorney for the Northern District of California, said in a
statement.
Wells
Fargo is not admitting liability as part of the settlement.
In
a statement, Wells Fargo said it "remains focused on [its]
important role as one of the nation's leading providers of
mortgage financing."
"We
are pleased to put behind us these legacy issues regarding
claims related to residential mortgage-backed securities
activities that occurred more than a decade ago," Wells Fargo
CEO Tim Sloan said.
The
bank pointed out that the Justice Department has previously
reached settlement agreements with other banks over similar
issues, and that "importantly, there were no claims that
individual customers were harmed as a result of the alleged
conduct."
The
government alleges that between 2005 and 2007, Wells Fargo
knew many of its home loans were based on misstated income
details and misrepresented their quality.
Investors,
including federally-insured financial institutions, ultimately
lost billions of dollars from investing in mortgage-backed
securities that contained Wells Fargo loans, according to the
Justice Department.
The
fine is the latest bit of bad publicity for Wells Fargo, which
has had a lot of it recently.
A
wave of controversies, kicked off by the fake-accounts
scandal,
has damaged Wells Fargo's reputation, raised its legal
expenses and drawn attention from regulators.
The
bank is spending heavily to try to win back the trust of
customers. It recently launched an expensive ad campaign on
television, radio and online.
All
the controversies have hurt Wells Fargo's bottom line.
Profit,
loans, deposits and revenue all
shrank last quarter,
the bank said last month.