Kate Berry has covered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for American Banker since 2016. She joined the publication in 2006 covering mortgage lending and the financial crisis. Berry also has covered big banks including Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo. She has won five awards from the Society of American Business Writers and Editors, and has worked at several news organizations including the Orange County Register, the Los Angeles Business Journal and the Associated Press. Berry began her career as a clerk at the New York Times.
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The piling on at Wells Fargo has reached an unprecedented level, even for a bank. Fifteen investigations are underway into Wells' phony account openings. Experts are quantifying the damage to Wells' reputation and what the bank can do going forward to repair it.
October 25 -
Wells Fargo appears to have offered two different reasons for why it failed to inform investors about the investigation into 2 million phony accounts. That could play a role into whether the Securities and Exchange Commission files charges against the bank for disclosure violations.
October 24 -
The California Department of Justice is investigating Wells Fargo for allegations of criminal identity theft.
October 19 -
Two San Francisco supervisors on Tuesday introduced a resolution that would "end all business with Wells Fargo," in response to the fake account scandal and other practices that have harmed consumers.
October 18 -
Student loan borrowers face breakdowns and delays in applying for repayment plans that feature loan forgiveness or interest subsidies, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said in a report released Monday.
October 17 -
Some analysts are suggesting Wells Fargo should start closing branches, in order to move beyond the phony-accounts scandal, make up for an expected drop in fee income from reduced cross-selling and position itself for a digital future.
October 13 -
The new CEO has vowed to clean up the sales practices that tarnished the bank's reputation and cost John Stumpf his job. But skeptics from Wall Street to Capitol Hill say Sloan, too, was "culpable" in the phony account-opening scandal and that only an outsider can fix what ails the nation's third-largest bank.
October 12 -
A federal appeals court ruling against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has raised questions about whether banks and other firms cited by the agency can protest previous enforcement actions. But doing so may create new risks for firms.
October 12 -
Arguably the biggest shift was that of Avid Modjtabai, the head of consumer lending, who has been named chief of the new payments group focused on digital and online offerings, investments in research and development and strategic partnerships.
October 10 -
More top executives at Wells Fargo will report to President and Chief Operating Officer Tim Sloan, the company announced Monday, a move that comes amid the ongoing fake accounts scandal that has led to calls for the resignation of Chief Executive Officer John Stumpf.
October 10 -
Fourteen senators including Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., sent a letter Wednesday to Attorney General Loretta Lynch calling for the Justice Department to investigate possible criminal wrongdoing by senior executives at Wells Fargo.
October 6 -
Fourteen senators including Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., sent a letter Wednesday to Attorney General Loretta Lynch calling for the Justice Department to investigate possible criminal wrongdoing by senior executives at Wells Fargo.
October 5 -
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureaus final rule on prepaid cards will improve fraud protection and provide greater transparency of costs for such products, but is already drawing fire from credit unions and consumer advocates.
October 5 -
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's final rule on prepaid cards will improve fraud protection and provide greater transparency of costs for such products, but is already drawing fire from both consumer advocates and bankers over how it treats overdraft fees.
October 5 -
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's final rule on prepaid cards will improve fraud protection and provide greater transparency of costs for such products, but is already drawing fire from both consumer advocates and bankers over how it treats overdraft fees.
October 4 -
The former secretary of state used the Wells enforcement action to call for tougher standards on Wall Street, restraints on the use of forced arbitration clauses and continued defense of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
October 3 -
The former secretary of state used the Wells enforcement action to call for tougher standards on Wall Street, restraints on the use of forced arbitration clauses and continued defense of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
October 3 -
Wells Fargo Chief Executive John Stumpf's two disastrous appearances on Capitol Hill have fueled calls for him to resign and many analysts are wondering whether the embattled executive will be able to keep his job.
September 30 -
Three Democratic senators led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., have asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate whether Wells Fargo and senior officials violated laws by misleading investors and firing whistleblowers while the bank oversaw the creation of 2 million phony accounts.
September 29 -
The Department of Justice wants banks to more fully cooperate with civil investigations. Companies now are expected to "materially assist" the agency in providing documents, access to witnesses and even inculpatory documentary evidence such as emails and text messages.
September 28
