Ongoing Divestiture

Summary:

California, Illinois, Philadelphia, Seattle, Chicago, New York City and other municipalities suspended or ceased business with Wells Fargo after their many scandals were exposed.

In 2017, the Sierra Club launched a campaign to pressure financial institutions to withdraw financing for fossil fuels. Over 25,000 people pledged to pull their funds out of Wells Fargo and other banks.

As a result of its numerous scandals uncovered in 2016 and subsequent divestiture by its customers, Wells Fargo has seen its market value remain largely stagnant while its competitors have grown significantly. From 2013-2018, a period that spans Wells Fargo’s fake accounts scandal, shares in JPMorgan and Bank of America have more than doubled while Wells Fargo’s stock has gained just about a third. A comparison of its stock to the financial industry shows that since 2016 there was no growth, while the leading industry ETF tracker (ticker: XLF) has grown by about 50% – this after a period where the bank performed at par with the industry, before the major scandals were unveiled and fines and sanctions imposed.