The Office of the Comptroller has been investigating the fake bank account scandal that may go beyond Wells Fargo. While the OCC isn’t naming the banks involved in the investigation, consumer advocates are looking into sales practices at a number of banks such as Bank of Americal, or BofA.
Recently, federal regulators conducted a review of large and mid-size banks, investigating practices and systemic issues. This review was conducted in light of the news that Wells Fargo employees had been opening accounts without the consent of the account holders, in an attempt to meet sales goals.
Reportedly, a little under two years ago, Wells Fargo opened a total of 2 million customer accounts without customer approval.
The recent investigation of the large and mid-size banks allegedly revealed several systemic issues, but the Office of the Comptroller reportedly does not intend to make the names of the investigated banks accessible to the public.
Allegedly, the investigation did indicate that employees at banks other than Wells Fargo did also engage in the practice of opening up accounts without customers’ consent. The investigation also allegedly revealed that five other industry-wide issues had come to light, as well as 250 specific times at individual banks.
In a statement to American Banker, Bryan Hubbard, spokesman for the Office of the Comptroller, did note that before 2016, when enforcement action was taken against Wells Fargo after the fake bank account scandal, few banks had a company-wide approach to risk management. Such banks possibly included banks as large as BofA, though the investigation was not specific. He stated that the OCC’s most recent investigation identified weaknesses in the area of risk management, but he did not state any specifics.
In September 2016, then-comptroller Thomas Curry said that the OCC investigation directed examiners to “review that sales practices of all the large and midsize banks the OCC supervises” in light of the fake bank account scandal, according to American Banker.
Hubbard said in an email to American Banker that banks did participate in the OCC review by making strides in the area of risk management and governance. Hubbard stated that “most banks took timely actions during the review to address weaknesses in policies, procedures, and controls; incentive programs; and their risk governance frameworks…As a result, systems and control in these banks are now better integrated and more apt to identify appropriate sales activities in a timely manner.”
Bob Hedges, a global leader of A.T. Kearney’s financial institutions stated his support for the review, telling American Banker that “I think what the OCC review process put a light on for all of these banks was they definitely had an opportunity to improve their hygiene. The industry’s worked hard to capitalize on the opportunity that the Wells Fargo wake-up call gave them.”
Hubbard also noted that in a number of banks, possibly those as large as BofA, there were cases of employees opening up accounts without consumer consent, for a number of cases. Most commonly, this was apparently done in an effort to boost sales and occurred in cases when there were not adequate risk controls in place, like proper account opening and closing procedures.
In light of the review, more banks are reportedly revamping procedures around the opening of new accounts. These procedures include contacting customers after accounts are opened in their name to verify that they intended to open the account. In some cases, banks are no longer offering a payout incentive to employees who open accounts until after the customer actually uses an account, to verify that the account is legitimate and dissuade employees from continuing the fake bank account scandal.
An unauthorized bank accounts lawsuit investigation is now looking into banking sales practices at the following banks:
- Bank of America
- BOK Financial
- Capital One
- HSBC
- Royal Bank of Canada
- TD Bank
If you are a customer at one of the banks listed above and you were charged for fees from a bank account you did not open, you were issued a credit card you did not request, or you were enrolled in services you did not authorize, you may qualify to join this fake bank account class action lawsuit investigation.
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