Wells Fargo Says Scandal Costs Will Be Higher Than Projected
- Expenses could be as high as $80 million a quarter, CFO says
- CEO says he learned painfully that he doesn’t write headlines
Wells Fargo CFO Says Scandal Costs Will Abate This Year
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Wells Fargo & Co.’s costs tied to a fake-account scandal are mounting faster than the bank expected as the company incurs expenses for consultants and lawyers.
The lender expects their fees to be $70 million to $80 million per quarter, Chief Financial Officer John Shrewsberry told analysts on a conference call Thursday. That compares with the range of $50 million to $60 million that he gave in February. The CFO said the costs will persist for “several quarters,” even after the bank’s board released a report this week into how the sales abuses started and were allowed to continue for more than a decade.