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CHICAGO—Seeking to protect military families and active duty military personnel whose consumer rights may have been violated by Wells Fargo, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senators Jack Reed (D-RI), the Ranking Member of the Armed Services Committee, Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), the Ranking Member of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, and Sherrod Brown (D-OH), the Ranking Member of the Banking Committee, to call on Wells Fargo to step up compliance with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA).
The letter comes on the heels of Wells Fargo being fined a total of $24.1 million by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for the bank’s alleged violations of the SCRA. The SCRA was designed to ease financial burdens on servicemembers during periods of military service. For example, the SCRA includes provisions that prohibit the eviction of military members and their dependents from rental or mortgaged property, and the law caps interest at 6% on debts incurred prior to an individual entering active duty military service. In addition, under the SCRA, a court order is required before repossessing a vehicle belonging to a member of the military, if the servicemember took out the loan and made a payment before entering military service.
“We are extremely disappointed to learn of the SCRA announcement. Combined, these abuses indicate that Wells Fargo has actually made it more difficult and stressful for our service members and their families by violating the very rights they have fought and continue to fight so hard to secure. We are also concerned about potential compliance issues related to the Military Lending Act (MLA), including new rules that took effect on October 3,” the Senators wrote to Wells Fargo CEO John Strumpf and members of the Board of Directors.
The letter was also signed by Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Maize Hirono (D-HI), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Bernie Sanders (D-VT).
The Senators demanded answers to several questions, including:
- On what date did you first become aware of the most recent SCRA violations at Wells Fargo? Upon becoming aware of these violations, what did you specifically do to remedy these violations? When was the Board of Directors first made aware of Wells Fargo’s SCRA violations? What specifically did the Board of Directors recommend in terms of remedial actions?
- With respect to the fraudulent accounts opened by Wells Fargo employees, how many concerned military members, either active duty or reserve?
- Since the SCRA was enacted in 2003, how many times has Wells Fargo violated the SCRA? For each violation, please describe the nature of the violation, the number of service members harmed, the financial harm imposed upon service members, the fine, penalty, or other remedy assessed, and whether Wells Fargo deducted any cost associated with these remedies from Wells Fargo’s tax returns. If such a deduction was taken, please disclose the financial value of each such tax deduction.
- For each Wells Fargo branch located on the premises of a U.S. military base, please provide the following information:
- The branch address and number of customers served;
- Since the opening of the branch, the revenue generated by each branch;
- The annual cost of the branch’s lease, including a fair market estimate for what a comparable lease would cost if the branch were located immediately off base;
- The number of unauthorized accounts or credit cards that were opened or issued;
- Whether any of the 5,300 terminated employees were employed at one of these branches;
- The cross-selling goals set for employees, including a list and a description of the various Wells Fargo products that could satisfy such cross-selling goals; and
- Whether there have been any other violations of local, state, or federal law at such branches and a description of how those violations were remedied.
- In light of these SCRA violations, please explain why Wells Fargo should be allowed to keep its branches on U.S. military bases?
