Washington • Federal regulators are preparing to fine megabank Wells Fargo about $1 billion for misbehavior in its auto and mortgage businesses, according to two people familiar with the negotiations.
The settlement, which could be announced as soon as Friday, would be the most aggressive move by regulators during the Trump administration to punish a big bank. It also escalates problems at Wells Fargo, which has been under intense federal scrutiny since admitting in 2016 that it had opened millions of sham accounts customers didn’t want.
The regulators — the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency — have been investigating Wells Fargo for months after it acknowledged charging thousands of customers for auto insurance they didn’t need, driving some to default on their loans and lose their cars through repossession.