Clinton Says Wells Fargo’s ‘Outrageous’ Acts Justify Oversight

(Bloomberg) -- Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said the consumer watchdog created under the Dodd-Frank overhaul of U.S. financial rules proved its value by fining Wells Fargo & Co. over claims that bank employees opened more than 2 million accounts without the approval of customers.

Donald Trump, Clinton’s Republican rival in the November election, is seeking to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, she said Friday in a statement. Trump calls government oversight of U.S. business “excessive” and has called for a pause on new rules and a review of existing regulations. Clinton said she applauded the panel’s response to Wells Fargo’s “outrageous behavior.”

The case “is a stark reminder of why we need a strong consumer watchdog to safeguard against unfair and deceptive practices,” Clinton said in the statement. “It’s yet another example of how much is at stake in this election.”

The CFPB said on Thursday that employees of San Francisco-based Wells Fargo secretly opened the unauthorized accounts to hit sales targets and receive bonuses. The bank agreed to resolve the allegations without admitting or denying wrongdoing, and pay $185 million in fines. The lender said it fired 5,300 employees over the matter and set aside $5 million for customer remediation.

Jennifer Dunn, a Wells Fargo spokeswoman, declined to comment on Clinton’s statement.

To contact the reporter on this story: Dan Reichl in San Francisco at dreichl@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Peter Eichenbaum at peichenbaum@bloomberg.net, Daniel Taub, Kara Wetzel