The Wells Fargo & Co (ticker: WFC) scandal has now crept into political rhetoric, as Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said in a speech yesterday in Toledo, Ohio, that she would hold Wells Fargo responsible for its actions.
“Really shocking isn’t it? One of the nations’ biggest banks bullying thousands of employees into committing fraud against unsuspecting customers,” Clinton said Monday in front of a crowd, reports Reuters.
Wells Fargo recently agreed to a settlement following the reveal that, without customers’ consent, its employees created 2 million fake credit card and bank accounts. This was all in an effort to make more money and bump sales figures. It cost the company $185 million in settlement fees plus $5 million in customer remediation.
Wells Fargo had arbitration clauses in place, blocking consumer lawsuits.
“They are forced into a closed-door arbitration process without the important protections you get in a court of law,” Clinton said.
Clinton’s speech followed her campaign detailing ways for consumers to take on corporations in court instead of private arbitration. According to Clinton, the Wells Fargo case highlighted how required arbitration clauses hurt consumers. Consumer advocates back up this assertion, citing the insurmountable cost of this required individual arbitration.
“We are not going to let companies like Wells Fargo use these fine print gotchas to escape accountability,” Clinton also said.
The Wells Fargo example is hardly a surprise talking point, however. Wall Street has been disparaged throughout this presidential race, notes CNN.
Peter Navarro, an economic adviser of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s campaign said of the scandal, “Wells Fargo … shame on them, just shame on them.” That said, Trump is interested in taking apart the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — the group that aided in uncovering Wells Fargo’s actions, reports CNN.
Wells Fargo stock has plummeted 19.68 percent on the year.
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Hillary Clinton Calls Out Wells Fargo & Co (WFC) originally appeared on usnews.com
