Corrupt Management and Sales Culture

Summary:

Wells Fargo management perpetuated a “control fraud” scam whereby top executives earned a fortune from cheating its customers while leaving its employees and its victims footing the bill.

Wells Fargo management relentlessly pressured their employees to sell as many products as they could to customers, and that drove a culture of fraud and corruption across the entire bank and its lines of business.

Both compensation and performance ratings were directly tied to to sales goals, and employees were ranked against one another. Employees, many of whom were underpaid and relied on these bonuses, understood that not hitting their unrealistic sales goals met pay cuts and negative reviews, which often lead to termination.

Former employees reported multiple meetings per day with hourly checkins and unreasonable daily sales quotas. Whistle-blowers have frequently cited explicit management instruction to commit fraud. The management created a culture of corruption that permeated across the entire company.

As of 2019 employees still report low pay and high pressure to meet unrealistic sales goals, suggesting little has changed.

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