State Treasurer Timothy Reese Thursday announced he has suspended Wells Fargo from any Treasury investment or trading activities for one year because of its fraudulent accounts scandal. The decision was made following a recent meeting with bank representatives.
"As the state's financial custodian, I am very concerned about the impact of Wells Fargo's conduct on the state and our taxpayers," said Treasurer Reese. "While Treasury wasn't impacted directly, the bank's actions call into question its internal controls and culture, and until the bank fixes those problems, they will not be eligible for investment or trading work with Treasury."
Following the announcement that Wells Fargo had reached a $185 million settlement with the federal government over the fraudulent accounts, Treasurer Reese asked for the meeting with the bank to understand better the scope of the issue and to discuss what actions were planned to ensure the problem wouldn't happen again.
Bank representatives told Treasury that there were approximately 80,000 potentially unauthorized accounts in Pennsylvania of which more than 2,600 had incurred fees that have already been reimbursed.
Treasury will continue to monitor the situation and may re-evaluate the bank's status should it demonstrate progress in reforming its operations and culture.
