The Federal Reserve has ended its enforcement action against Wells Fargo, closing the book on the bank’s fake accounts scandal after nearly a decade of oversight.
After nearly ten years of regulatory oversight, the U.S. Federal Reserve has formally closed its enforcement action against Wells Fargo, drawing a line under one of the most damaging scandals in modern American banking.
The Fed confirmed on Thursday that the bank had sufficiently restructured its operations following the revelation that employees had created millions of unauthorised customer accounts. The enforcement order, introduced in 2018, included an unprecedented cap on Wells Fargo’s assets — a restriction that stifled its growth for seven years before being lifted in 2025.
Wells Fargo offered no comment beyond acknowledging the Fed’s decision.
The removal of the asset cap was already seen as a turning point for the bank, which had struggled under the weight of regulatory penalties. The cap was the first of its kind imposed by the central bank, underscoring the severity of the misconduct.
“The market has largely moved on from WFC’s regulatory issues, especially since the asset cap was lifted last year,” noted R. Scott Siefers, banking analyst at Piper Sandler.
“But the termination still represents an important psychological victory in that it was this order that first installed the asset cap. Thus, even if the stock doesn’t react, this is great to have in the rear view.”
Despite the announcement, Wells Fargo shares slipped 2.7% in afternoon trading, reflecting broader weakness across the financial sector.
With Thursday’s decision, the final layer of regulatory scrutiny tied to the scandal has now been removed, signalling the end of a long chapter in the bank’s troubled history.
