PA Treasury Suspends Wells Fargo from Investment and Trading Activities
HARRISBURG, Pa., Nov. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Pennsylvania Treasurer Timothy Reese today announced that he has suspended Wells Fargo from any Treasury investment or trading activities for one year because of its fraudulent accounts scandal. The decision was made following a recent meeting with bank representatives.
"As the state's financial custodian, I am very concerned about the impact of Wells Fargo's conduct on the state and our taxpayers," said Treasurer Reese. "While Treasury wasn't impacted directly, the bank's actions call into question its internal controls and culture, and until the bank fixes those problems, they will not be eligible for investment or trading work with Treasury."
Following the announcement that Wells Fargo had reached a $185 million settlement with the federal government over the fraudulent accounts, Treasurer Reese asked for the meeting with the bank to understand better the scope of the issue and to discuss what actions were planned to ensure the problem wouldn't happen again. Bank representatives told Treasury that there were approximately 80,000 potentially unauthorized accounts in Pennsylvania of which more than 2,600 had incurred fees that have already been reimbursed.
Treasury will continue to monitor the situation and may re-evaluate the bank's status should it demonstrate progress in reforming its operations and culture.
Media contact: Scott Sloat, 717-783-4098, 717-695-1789 or [email protected]
The Pennsylvania Treasury is an independent department of state government led by the state treasurer, who is elected every four years. The department's primary duty is to safeguard and manage the state's public funds. It invests state money to generate income on behalf of the citizens of Pennsylvania, reviews and processes payments for state government agencies, and serves as custodian of more than $100 billion in state funds. Key Treasury programs include Unclaimed Property, PA 529 College Savings Program and the Board of Finance and Revenue. To learn more visit patreasury.gov.
SOURCE Pennsylvania Treasury
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