Revisit Wells Fargo decision — before time runs out

We are a group of committed, politically active women in Santa Fe, and we are outraged that the City Council voted to retain Wells Fargo as the city bank for Santa Fe (“Mayor, council reluctantly keep Wells Fargo as city’s bank,” Aug. 31). Though many of us in the community contacted council members and the mayor pleading for a “no” vote, half of the council members and the mayor voted “yes” to banking with Wells Fargo.

This vote makes no sense. Wells Fargo is a fraudulent company that only came “clean” when its transgressions were discovered. According to U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., a member of the Senate committee for banking, “Wells Fargo got caught creating 2.1 million fake bank accounts and credit card accounts using their customers’ names and credit information without permission.”

In addition, Warren adds, “More than 5,000 lower-level employees got fired, but not one of the board members lost their jobs. That’s our screwed up corporate accountability system in a nutshell.”

Recently, it was reported in The New Mexican that Wells Fargo had admitted to an additional 1.4 million fake accounts. Is this really the bank that the City Council thinks would be best for Santa Fe? No one should trust this bank because for years, its officials have cultivated a culture of dishonesty, fraud and greed starting at the top. Clearly, the bank’s last concern was fiduciary responsibility for customers. In addition, the fact that Wells Fargo gave financial support to the Dakota Access Pipeline, and given that the city passed a resolution opposing that project, hiring Wells Fargo as the main city banker seems hypocritical.

Councilor Peter Ives, who voted to continue with Wells Fargo, stated that Wells Fargo’s mistakes were in the past. He also claimed that any large corporation would have something we wouldn’t like in their past. Councilor Carmichael Dominguez said, ‘We can’t just put our cash in a cash box in the finance office. We do have to work with these institutions.’ And Mayor Javier Gonzales voted a “reluctant yes.” What cop-out positions! This “yes” vote was the easy way. Why not hire an exemplary bank? They do exist.

Thank you to Councilors Signe Lindell, Joseph Maestas and Chris Rivera for voting against the fouryear contract extension with Wells Fargo. We believe that these councilors voted their consciences, and we respect them for it. Apparently, they didn’t want our business executed by a bank that practiced fraud.

There are other bank options in Santa Fe. According to Bauer Financial, an independent nonprofit organization, both Del Norte Credit Union and State Employees Credit Union have a higher star rating than Wells Fargo. Why not give our business to a local company? Why not pursue the idea of developing a public bank that would be an advantage to the taxpayer?

The one positive in this vote is that either the city or Wells Fargo can terminate this fiscal contract by giving 60 days notice. We suggest that the City Council and the mayor revisit their poor decision.