WASHINGTON - House Small Business Committee Chairman Steve Chabot (R-OH) has demanded regular updates from Wells Fargo after the company admitted that thousands of accounts owned by small businesses were harmed by the improper sales practices of Wells Fargo employees.
Chairman Chabot’s letter is a follow-up to official inquiries the Committee made last month to both Wells Fargo and the Small Business Administration (SBA) to determine the scandal’s impact on any Wells Fargo accounts associated with small businesses.
“In Wells Fargo’s response to my letter, it admitted that thousands of the deposit and credit card accounts that were harmed by the improper sales practices of Wells Fargo employees were accounts owned by small businesses.” Chairman Chabot wrote in his letter to Wells Fargo.
“The response also indicated that Wells Fargo plans to work with a third party to review all accounts dating back to 2009 in order to identify those that may have been affected,” Chabot added. “I believe that a more in-depth review is important to ensure that any individual or small business that may have been harmed is made whole. Because Wells Fargo will be implementing this additional review, it is possible that the information that you provided in response to my letter will change. Accordingly, I request that Wells Fargo provide the Committee with updates throughout its review and keep the Committee informed.”
After news of the scandal broke, Chairman Chabot sent formal requests to both Wells Fargo and the SBA demanding detailed information about how small businesses may have been harmed by these fraudulent and deceptive practices.
After John G. Stumpf stepped down as CEO of Wells Fargo, Chabot stated that the resignation would have absolutely no bearing on the seriousness and urgency of the Committee’s probe into the scandal. Chabot provided an update on his requests for information in a guest op-ed for CNBC.
In their response to Chairman Chabot’s initial request for information, the SBA informed the Committee of the following:
“SBA’s Office of Credit Risk Management (OCRM) has conducted several risk-based, in depth reviews of Wells Fargo’s SBA lending operations (in 2011, 2014, and 2016). Each resulted in an acceptable assessment and no enforcement or disciplinary actions were taken.”
“OCRM is currently conducting an additional targeted review of Wells Fargo including a sample of Wells Fargo 7(a) loans to identify any unusual activity which may indicate abusive activities by Wells Fargo employees, and will follow-up as appropriate.”
