The Chicago City Council announced a one-year suspension for Wells Fargo from city business, joining Illinois and California in finding alternative methods to punish the mega bank for its massive sales scandal, an article in Reuters by Karen Pierog and Dave McKinney stated.
From the article:
The ban includes bond underwriting, brokerage, trustee and other services the bank has provided to the city. Wells Fargo has earned $19.5 million in fees from Chicago since 2005.
"I hope this action by the city of Chicago will echo around the nation and make it clear to other institutions this conduct is unacceptable," said Alderman Edward Burke, who heads the Chicago City Council’s finance committee.
"Wells Fargo is disappointed that the Chicago City Council has chosen to suspend a relationship with one of the nation’s safest and strongest financial institutions at a time when the city needs access to dependable financial partners," the bank said in a statement.
Burke first introduced the ordinance last Friday.
This news comes shortly after California’s state treasurer, John Chiang, announced that the state is suspending its “most highly profitable business relationships” with Wells Fargo for at least one year in the wake of the scandal.
And last Thursday, Oregon State Treasurer Ted Wheeler said that Oregon trust funds, including the Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund, Oregon Short-Term Fund, Oregon Common School Fund and State Accident Insurance Fund, hold “substantial” shares in Wells Fargo and will seek changes to the company.
In fact, Wheeler said that Oregon will push for management structure and executive compensation reforms at Wells Fargo.
