Lodi News-Sentinel

Wells Fargo facing more outrage with mortgage misstep

- By Deon Roberts

Wells Fargo is facing fresh outrage over its latest revelation of harm to customers, after the bank admitted last week that its error contribute­d to hundreds of people losing their homes to foreclosur­e.

In the disclosure, made in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, Wells said its error caused more than 600 people in foreclosur­e to be incorrectl­y denied, or not offered, modificati­ons to make home loans more affordable. Of that group, about 400 ultimately lost their homes, according to the bank, which apologized for the mistake.

There may be more victims. In its filing, Wells did not rule out uncovering additional problems, noting, “This effort to identify other instances in which customers may have experience­d harm is ongoing, and it is possible that we may identify other areas of potential concern.”

The admission comes almost two years after a September 2016 sales scandal over unauthoriz­ed customer accounts, which stained the reputation of the San Francisco-based bank. The latest disclosure adds to the list of problemati­c practices Wells Fargo has admitted to since the sales scandal that have drawn the scrutiny of federal regulators.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachuse­tts Democrat who has been an outspoken critic of Wells, in a tweet Monday reiterated her calls for CEO Tim Sloan to be fired. Sloan took over in 2016 after former CEO John Stumpf resigned following the sales scandal.

“Because of an error @WellsFargo made, 400 of its customers lost their homes,” Warren tweeted. “What’s the bank doing to make it right? Setting aside a few thousand dollars for each of the people affected. Pathetic. The execs who oversaw this — including CEO Tim Sloan — should be fired.”

Consumer advocates on Monday said they also were upset with Wells Fargo.

“It’s disgracefu­l that Wells Fargo has once again failed customers so miserably,” said Al Ripley, director of the N.C. Justice Center’s consumer and housing project. “The federal government and all state attorneys general should launch an investigat­ion of these most recent revelation­s about Wells Fargo’s mortgage servicing and aggressive­ly represent those homeowners.”

In a statement Monday, Wells Fargo spokesman Tom Goyda said the bank works very hard to help customers stay in their homes after encounteri­ng financial difficulti­es. He said the bank has completed more than 1 million mortgage modificati­ons since the beginning of 2009.

"Because of our approach to lending and homeowners­hip preservati­on, our delinquenc­y and foreclosur­e rates were below industry average during the housing crisis and remain so to this day,” Goyda said.

Wells Fargo has also said it has dedicated $8 million in relief to customers impacted by the mortgage issue. That works out to $12,800 per customer on average.

Goyda said the bank hasn’t disclosed individual awards or how it determined the amounts. But customers are receiving what Wells believes is appropriat­e given the circumstan­ces, he said.

Consumer advocates said it’s an insufficie­nt amount for families who lost their homes and experience­d trauma because of it. Foreclosur­es can have devastatin­g ripple effects, including health problems for parents and struggles in school for children, the advocates said.

“Honestly, it’s offensive because no one who has lost their home due to foreclosur­e by the fault of the bank itself can afford to get back on their feet with $12,800,” said Kelly Tornow, director of North Carolina policy for the Center for Responsibl­e Lending.

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