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$300M Settlement From Wells Fargo

$300M Settlement From Wells Fargo

Another class-action lawsuit has been closed by Wells Fargo after settling for $300M in a matter best described as 'fraud'.

Robert Baron & Anna Lad
February 10, 2023

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Banking News

JPMorgan Pivots Toward Small-Business Banking

JPMorgan Chase laid off several hundred mortgage unit employees thanks to higher interest rates and a 46% decrease in mortgage revenue from last year. Any upcoming hiring will occur in the small-business banking unit in anticipation of increased need from small businesses.

Isabella Casillas Guzman, director of the Small Business Administration (SBA) remarked:

Since the start of the [Biden-Harris Administration], small business applications reached a high of 10.5 million, the most in any two years in our nation’s history.

Isabella Casillas Guzman

Wells Fargo Pays $300M in Settlement

The scandal-fraught bank has settled for $300M to avoid a class-action lawsuit set to begin trial on Feb. 27. The class-action suit concerned over 800k customers charged incorrectly for “auto collision protection insurance,” 274k customers’ marked as delinquent, and ~25k vehicles repossessed incorrectly. Despite the company being aware of the dishonest practices, they were never disclosed to investors.

Credit Union News

CUs Desire to Expand Membership Field

Credit unions are interested in extending services to ‘banking deserts’ by opening branches in underserved areas deserted by banks. The Credit Union National Association (CUNA) found that from January 2005-September 2002, banks closed over 10k branches while credit unions opened 1.7k.

CUNA Opposes Junk Fee Prevention Act

In Tuesday’s State of the Union Address, President Biden broadly condemned bank and credit union fees as “junk fees.” According to the Credit Union National Association (CUNA), that characterization couldn’t be farther from the truth.CUNA CEO and President Jim Nussle said:

Consumers use overdraft protection as a safety net protecting them from life’s challenges. Without the option of overdraft protection, people are more likely to turn to predatory lenders, hurting the same people the administration seeks to help.

Jim Nussle

Financial Services & Blockchain

True Digital Offers Fintech 'Matchmaking'

Patrick Sells, former CIO for Quontic and NYDIG, created True Digital Group. His new platform aims to match banks with suitable fintech partners that meet their needs. Financial institutions plug in their objectives and see a list of fintech companies specializing in that sector.

Money Management App ‘Fierce’ Launches

The app, called the “Ted Lasso of finance,” was built by the New York Stock Exchange’s former CIO, Rob Cornish. Fierce users can link various accounts – checking, savings, 401k, 529, and stocks – to see everything from a centralized hub.

Cornish, who was also the CTO of Gemini, said:

We hope you’ll move over to Fierce and consolidate those, but the main thing right now is focusing on people seeing that holistic view and getting confidence in their finances.

Rob Cornish