Wells Fargo Pays $575 Million to Settle State Investigations

Minnesota Will Receive $9.3 Million

NEW YORK – Wells Fargo will pay $575 million in a settlement with attorneys general from all 50 states and the District of Columbia that are investigating its banking practices, which have included phony accounts and manipulative sales practices.

Under the agreement announced Friday, the bank will also be required to create teams to review and respond to customer complaints about its banking and sales practices.

As part of the $575 million nationwide settlement, which includes all 50 states, Wells Fargo will pay $9.3 million to the State of Minnesota.

“This settlement—on top of other settlements by federal regulators—is aimed to bring some measure of accountability to practices that are unacceptable for a banking institution,” said Attorney General Swanson.

The bank has been under a cloud since 2015 when it acknowledged that employees had opened millions of fake bank accounts for customers in order to meet sales goals. It has also said that it sold insurance and other financial products to customers who didn’t need them.

Wells Fargo has already been ordered to pay more than $1.2 billion in penalties and faced stricter regulations.