Wells Fargo investigation raises concerns about internal controls

An internal investigation found that employees in the banking giant’s business banking group were altering documents about customers

By Ryan Smith

22 May 2018

Another week, another reason for Wells Fargo execs to reach for the antacid. In the latest in a series of scandals for the embattled bank, an internal investigation found that some Wells Fargo employees were altering documents about business customers – raising concerns about the effectiveness of the banks’ internal checks.

The alterations took place in 2017 and early 2018, according to CNN Money. It was brought to light when multiple Wells Fargo employees alerted management. The document-altering occurred in Wells Fargo’s business banking group, which serves medium-sized businesses with annual sales between $5 million and $20 million.

According to CNN Money, a Wells Fargo investigation found that some employees may have broken procedure by changing forms that are required by anti-money laundering laws. However, the probe said that none of the employees were trying to hurt customers or falsify data.

“No customer data were negatively impacted, no data left the company and no products or services were sold,” the bank told CNN Money.

Wells Fargo said it had notified the Office of the Currency, and that the agency is investigating.

The news follows a string of scandals that have hounded the bank and tarnished its image over the course of the last two years. Wells Fargo recently paid a $97 million penalty in California for state labor law violations. It also recently agreed to pay $480 million to settle a class-action suit related to the scandal, and is facing a $1 billion penalty for charging mortgage borrowers improper fees and charging other customers for unnecessary car insurance.