Bay Area State Senator To Hold Hearing On Wells Fargo's Illegal Practices

BAY AREA, CA – State Sen. Steve Glazer (D-Orinda) will hold a special hearing this morning to examine Wells Fargo's illegal banking practices, according to Glazer's office.

Today's hearing will take place at 9:30 a.m. in Room 3191 of the State Capitol in Sacramento.

Glazer, who chairs the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee, plans to explore the bank's practice of setting up unauthorized accounts to satisfy sales goals and earn financial rewards under its incentive-compensation program, which is now defunct.

"I am hopeful that Wells Fargo will bring clarity to the lingering questions over why this scandal was allowed to grow, and who should be held accountable beyond the now-resigned CEO John Stumpf, now-departed former head of Community Banking Carrie Tolstedt and the 5,300 fired lower-level employees," Glazer said in a statement.

"I would also like to know whether Wells Fargo's corporate governance structure needs revamping, whether these incentive-compensation practices in other divisions of the bank could lead to similar wrongdoing and
what will be done to regain the necessary trust of the public," Glazer said.

• Related: Wells Fargo Loses Additional Bay Area Business Following Fake Account Scandal

Wells Fargo has admitted that bank employees created as many as 2 million unauthorized accounts, resulting in a $185 million fine by the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The bank is being sued by customers as well as by former employees who claim they were improperly fired for refusing to participate in fraudulent sales activity.

The State of California as well as local agencies including the Bay Area Air Quality Management Board and the County of Santa Clara voted to suspend their business with Wells Fargo as a result of the scandal.

• ALSO SEE: Protection Of Bay Area Mosques Sought After Hate-Filled Letter Received

--Bay City News/Image Credit: Mike Mozart via Flickr Creative Commons