Dive Brief:
- Wells Fargo will pay $6.5 million to the Navajo Nation as part of a settlement over the bank's alleged predatory lending practices, according to the Navajo Times.
- The Navajo Nation sued the bank in 2017, claiming it opened fake accounts and pressured elderly non-English speakers to pay for products they didn't need.
- "Wells Fargo's predatory actions defrauded and harmed the Nation," Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said in a statement Thursday.
Dive Insight:
The settlement with the Navajo Nation is the latest attempt by Wells Fargo to make amends after a series of public missteps that have hurt the bank's reputation and stock.
The bank made headlines in 2016 over a similar scandal in which employees opened millions of fraudulent accounts to receive sales-based incentives.
Wells Fargo has five branches located on the Navajo Nation's lands in Arizona, Utah and New Mexico.
"Our agreement with the Navajo Nation demonstrates our commitment to make things right regarding past sales practices issues as we continue the important transformation of our company," Wells Fargo said in a statement. "With this matter resolved, we look to continue building upon our long-standing relationships with the Navajo Nation and its members, and continue to help our customers and communities throughout Indian Country."
As the bank makes reparations for its past mistakes, a new scandal has emerged.
The New York Times this month reported that a Wells Fargo policy allowed bank accounts to remain open even after customers thought they had closed them, causing some customers to be charged thousands of dollars in overdraft fees.
The report drew fire from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, who suggested this latest scandal indicates the bank has not cleaned up its act.
