Regulation

Wells Fargo & Co. eliminated product sales goals for its consumer bankers as the company seeks to reassure regulators, lawmakers and customers after employees opened card and deposit accounts without clients’ approval.

While the retail lobby won in the political arena and successfully decreased its costs through price-fixing, the biggest loser in this situation was the American consumer.

Banks’ dilemmas around sharing data and embracing open payments technology are becoming a more urgent concern in Europe due to regulatory pressure, and fintech firms are starting to take notice.

Regulators, analysts and investors are likely to take a thorough look at other banks' cross-selling tactics following Wells' settlement with federal agencies for illegally enrolling customers in products and services.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Monday it has ordered Bridgepoint Education to refund $23.5 million for deceiving students into taking out private student loans that cost more than advertised.

Cybersecurity enforcement efforts need to be better coordinated across government agencies, financial industry groups said in a letter Friday to the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

In a speech in Washington on Monday, JPMorgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon said that political divisions between Republicans and Democrats are keeping the country from solving solvable common problems and reaching its economic potential.

Heightened risk management standards and the "three lines of defense" are supposed to help banks ward off scandal, but they failed miserably.

Democratic lawmakers are calling for Wells Fargo Chief Executive John Stumpf to testify before a Senate panel as part of an investigation into nearly 2 million fraudulent bank and credit card accounts that Wells employees opened in an effort to meet sales incentives.

The alleged practices at the heart of Well Fargo's settlement were fueled by a short-term incentive system that is detached from broader goals.