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48 WELLS FARGO'S SLOAN AND CFPB'S KRANINGER APPEAR BEFORE CONGRESS Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan appeared before the House Financial Services Commit- tee in March to address the bank's progress in providing reparations related to past scandals and how the bank is working to improve its culture and better serve its customers. Meanwhile, on the same day, the Sen- ate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs met in an Executive Session to discuss the CFPB's activities and plans with Kathleen L. Kraninger, Director, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as the witness. Wells Fargo's Sloan Testifies Before House Financial Services Committee e hearing stems back to 2016, when the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and Los Angeles City Attorney fined Wells Fargo Bank collective penalties of $185 million for opening mil- lions of deposit and credit-card accounts in customers' names without their consent or knowledge. e CFPB and OCC imposed the bank with civil money penalties and demanded restitution to harmed customers. In the follow-up hearing last month, Wells Fargo defended its response, claim- ing the bank has worked toward a change in leadership, culture, and practices. Sloan pointed out that Wells Fargo has created the required ethics training for all team members titled "Change for the Better." He also added that he "cannot promise perfection," however, he suggested that the changes implemented will act as a deterrent to further issues. "We've made fundamental changes. I can give personal assurance the bank will comply with consent decrees," Sloan said. Addressing the plight of 3.5 million cus- tomers who were defrauded, Sloan was ques- tioned as to why the bank perceived customers not worthy of the same justice that was meted out to investors. To which Sloan responded, "We went back 15 years, looked back at 165 million accounts, and we feel we captured all customers harmed, addressed, and made things right. ey have all been taken care of, restitution has been made. We've settled customer suits, and resolved them but we've enforced our arbitration rights." When asked about the accountability of the bank's lobbyists and their stance on the bill concerning overdrafts, Sloan indicated that he has not spoken to them but he intends to. CFPB Director Testifies Before Senate Banking Committee Even as the Wells Fargo hearing was un- folding, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs met in an Execu- tive Session to discuss the CFPB's activities and plans. In a previous hearing held by the House Financial Services Committee titled, "Put- ting Consumers First? A Semi-Annual Re- view of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau," Kraninger stated that the Bureau was "stronger at this time, not weaker" and that it was on the right track. She also de- fended claims that sufficient efforts were not being made to police predatory lending. As part of CFPB's Fall 2018 Semiannual Report issued in February that outlined the bureau's work, Kraninger stated, "'As I begin my stewardship of the CFPB, I will be mov- ing forward with the agency to make sure the American people have access to the financial products and services that best suit their in- dividual needs, the financial institutions that serve them are competing on a level playing field, and the marketplace is innovating in ways that enhance consumer choice." Prior to this morning's hearing, U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), the Com- mittee's Chairman, said, "During this hear- ing, I look forward to hearing more about Director Kraninger's priorities for the CFPB in the upcoming work period; additional leg- islative or regulatory opportunities to provide widespread access to financial products and services; and steps that could be taken to in- crease the protection of consumers' financial and other sensitive information." He also took note of the positive changes in recent years under new leadership. Howev- er, he urged that the CFPB must ensure that the "collection of consumer information is limited, information is retained only as long as is absolutely necessary to fulfill the CFPB's obligations, and that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect it." "Data privacy is another issue that the Committee will spend significant time on this Congress. Americans are rightly concerned about how their data is collected and used, and how their data is secured and protected by both government agencies and private companies. I have long raised con- cerns about big data collection by the CFPB, especially with respect to credit card and mortgage information," Crapo added.

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