Wells Fargo CEO Faces Continued Scrutiny for Bank’s Illegal Actions

FEATURING DAVID DAYEN – Wells Fargo, one of the nation’s largest banks, is facing continued scrutiny weeks after it was first fined $185 million by the Federal Government over illegal banking practices. CEO John Stumpf testified at a hearing on the matter for the second time on Thursday.

His first congressional grilling found him in the cross hairs of Senator Elizabeth Warren, whose no-holds-barred questioning went viral. Stumpf was also this week subject to what is called “a clawback” of stocks, to the tune of $41 million over his leadership.

Meanwhile California dropped its own bombshell with State Treasurer John Chiang announcing wide ranging sanctions against the bank on Wednesday over what he called, the “venal abuse of its customers.”

Wells Fargo employees are also fighting back, through the launch of a $7.2 billion class action lawsuit that alleges the bank, forced employees to “choose between keeping their jobs and opening unauthorized accounts.”

David Dayen, contributor to The Intercept, and a weekly columnist for the Fiscal Times and the New Republic. His new book is called Chain of Title: How Three Ordinary Americans Uncovered Wall Street’s Great Foreclosure Fraud.