Wells Fargo
Regulators announced Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016, that Wells Fargo is being fined $185 million for illegally opening millions of unauthorized accounts for their customers in order to meet aggressive sales goals. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)
(AP File)
BOSTON - Massachusetts should divest from current and future business arrangements with Wells Fargo after the banking and financial services paid tens of millions of dollars to settle charges of fraudulent business practices, four members of the state's congressional delegation said Monday.
In a letter to state Treasurer Deb Goldberg, a fellow Democrat, Congressman Stephen Lynch and Congressman Michael Capuano, who both represent the Boston area, joined Congresswoman Katherine Clark of Melrose and Congressman James McGovern of Worcester in calling for the end to business arrangements with Wells Fargo.
"As you know, under the direction of Wells Fargo's managers and executives, including John Stumpf, Chairman and CEO, many lower-level employees at Wells Fargo secretly created millions of fake deposit and credit card accounts in order to receive bonuses," the lawmakers wrote. "These revelations raise serious questions about Wells Fargo's policies that foster unethical behavior and drive employees to take advantage of unsuspecting customers."
According to the letter, Wells Fargo is listed as a trustee for the state's employees deferred compensation plan and the Massachusetts State Employees Retirement System.
"Given the revelations against Wells Fargo, and the fact that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has a long history of protecting consumers and instilling trust in our financial services sector, we respectfully request your office to curtail all financial dealings with Wells Fargo," they wrote.
Lynch, in a statement, added that executives at Wells Fargo haven't been held accountable. "We should not be investing taxpayer funds with a bank that has demonstrated such blatant disrespect for the privacy rights of its customers and widespread disregard for law," he said.
Goldberg's office said the treasurer instructed staffers to review any relationships Massachusetts has with the bank. Goldberg also instructed her assistant treasurer for debt management to remove Wells Fargo from the approved list of underwriters for a term of one year, a spokeswoman said.
Chandra Allard, the spokeswoman, also pointed to recent remarks Goldberg made. Goldberg said the bank treated employees, customers and members of the public in a "completely reprehensible fashion," and when the office has a clearer picture, "we will take all appropriate actions."
"What we do know is our exposure is extremely limited compared to other states," Allard said in an email. "Additionally, the Treasurer isn't convinced that Wells Fargo has grasped the level of seriousness of their actions nor have they addressed systemic failures within their organization. And because of that we have begun to take action."
Stumpf has stepped down from the CEO job and Tim Sloan has taken over, the company said last week.
The news came weeks after Sen. Elizabeth Warren excoriated Stumpf while he appeared in front of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee.
This post was updated at 5:36 p.m. with comments from Treasurer Goldberg's office.