CEO Passes Reins at Wells Fargo

Bank accused of mortgage abuses

(NEWSER) - Wells Fargo has agreed to cough up $85 million to settle allegations that it steered borrowers with good credit towards expensive subprime mortgages and falsified information on borrowers' income on loan documents. The Federal Reserve says the fine, the first levied in relation to the predatory big-bank practices blamed for the housing bubble, is the largest that it has ever issued under its consumer-protection authority, CNN reports. More»

Feds go after bank fee 'profiteering'

(NEWSER) - Say goodbye to the $35 Frappuccino. As of yesterday, if you don't choose to opt-in for overdraft protection, your bank can't saddle you with a hefty fee on the Starbucks beverage you don't actually have enough money in your account for. A new overdraft protection law has come into effect, and—as those whose banks have recently barraged them with calls and letters encouraging them to stay in overdraft programs may have noticed—banks are eager to get as many customers as possible to opt in, as overdraft fees are a major source of revenues. More»

Fed massaged some figures to portray banks as healthy

(NEWSER) - Some major banks managed to cajole the government into using more optimistic figures in its "stress test" results, insiders tell the Washington Post. Banks like Citigroup—eager to show they were healthy and didn't need more help from the government—were given credit for pending moves to raise capital, resulting in the report showing shortages of capital well below what many experts had predicted. More»

(NEWSER) - CEOs of the nation’s largest banks today assured President Obama they understand their institutions are vital to economic recovery and pledged to do all they can to help the government, Bloomberg reports. Following today’s White House meeting, Wells Fargo’s CEO said “the basic message” of the powwow “is we’re all in this together.” More»

Bank could make a better offer; may sue Wells Fargo

(NEWSER) - Left hanging after Wells Fargo swooped in with a better offer to purchase Wachovia, the troubled Citigroup is mulling its options. It could attempt to sweeten its earlier bid, perhaps including pieces of the company it hadn’t agreed to take earlier—or launch a lawsuit. Citigroup may argue that Wachovia’s deal with Wells Fargo violated an “exclusivity agreement,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “This is complete misconduct,” says a Citi exec. More»