Reference no: EM131714935

Wells Fargo is still facing lots of bad headlines in the news and calls for the firm to reform its corporate culture. This comes after employees opened millions of fake customer accounts. The employees indicate that this was done to achieve their sales targets. The Justice Department has been looking into the bank's conduct. The bank has taken action against the employees involved.

The Los Angeles Times reported some time ago that the firm's over-the-top sales culture produced the employee misconduct. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (C.F.P.B.), a federal regulatory agency, conducted an investigation and announced a $185 million settlement this month.

In their annual report for 2015, Wells Fargo provides a general description of lawsuits and investigations involving the bank, including mortgage issues related to the financial crisis, and notes that it had set aside approximately $1.3 billion to cover the cost of litigation. However, it does not mention the C.F.P.B.'s interest in how the bank mistreated its customers.

Read a few articles (newspaper, magazine, online) on this subject and answer these 3 questions:

• Why do you think this unethical conduct by employees was tolerated at first by the firm's leadership?
• Do you think the action by Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was fair or unfair to the bank shareholders? What will be done with the $ 185 million?
• Are additional laws or regulations need to address such misconduct in the banking industry?