Wells Fargo Abruptly Terminating Customers’ Bank Accounts, Say Attorneys General in 16 States, Demanding Immediate Freeze on Lender’s Alleged Debanking Practices

More than a dozen state attorneys general (AGs) are accusing banking titan Wells Fargo of abruptly terminating customers’ accounts without warning.

In a letter addressed to Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf, 16 Republican AGs across the country accuse the trillion-dollar lender of debanking customers in a political and discriminatory manner.

The AGs say Wells Fargo has started a new trend that looks at clients’ political views as a basis for retaining banking access.

“Within this context, Wells Fargo’s decisions to debank Republican candidates and gun industry participants reveal a new troubling trend…

Blanket prohibitions and policies against providing service to certain customers lead to the inevitable question – who is next? Which types of companies or people will Wells Fargo determine cannot be allowed as customers? Is this why Wells Fargo apparently closed the accounts of former Republican candidates Lauren Witzke and Pete D’Abrosca on the same day in 2021?”

The AGs say the alleged pattern may be in violation of state laws.

“Wells Fargo should cease its efforts to discriminate based on ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) objectives, and publicly commit to serving Americans in a fair, nondiscriminatory, and lawful manner. States possess meaningful authority over banks under civil rights and unfair and deceptive acts and practices (UDAP) statutes.” 

The 16 AGs end the letter asking Wells Fargo to stop its debanking policies and respond to its concerns by April 4th.

The AGs who signed the letter include Austin Knudsen of Montana, Tim Griffin of Arkansas, Raul Labrador of Idaho, Todd Rokita of Indiana, Kris Kobach of Kansas, Luz Murrill of Louisiana, Lynn Fitch of Mississippi, Andrew Bailey of Missouri, Mike Hilgers of Nebraska, John Formella of New Hampshire, Dave Yost of Ohio, Alan Wilson of South Carolina, Jason Miyares of Virginia, Patrick Morrisey of West Virginia, Sean Reyes of Utah and Bridget Hill of Wyoming.

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