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Wells Fargo stock drops after US regulator issues enforcement action for money laundering

  • CNN
  • September 12, 2024
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a top banking regulator in the United States, said Thursday it has issued an enforcement action against Wells Fargo due to deficiencies in its risk management practices.

Shares of the bank fell 5% in afternoon trading.

The regulator said it had identified deficiencies relating to the bank's financial crimes risk management practices and anti-money laundering internal controls.

An agreement under the enforcement action requires the lender to receive permission from the OCC before launching new business in medium- or high-risk areas for money laundering or sanctions. The regulator, however, is not seeking any monetary penalty.

The US commercial real estate market has plunged in value after office vacancy rates jumped in the wake of the pandemic.

Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg/Getty Images

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"We have been working to address a substantial portion of what's required in the formal agreement, and we are committed to completing the work with the same sense of urgency as our other regulatory commitments," the bank said in a statement.

Since 2016, Wells Fargo has spent billions of dollars settling civil and criminal charges related to a multiyear scheme that included repeatedly misapplying loan payments, wrongfully foreclosing on homes, illegally repossessing vehicles, incorrectly assessing fees and interest and charging surprise overdraft fees.

Last year, the former head of the bank's retail operation was sentenced to three years of probation, while the bank's former CEO was banned from the industry.