WASHINGTON — New York City Comptroller Brad Lander said in a recent letter that he's "gravely disturbed" by U.S. Bank's fake- accounts scandal.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in July
Lander asked for answers to several questions, including when bank leadership and the board of directors first became aware of the unauthorized account openings and how many New York City consumers were affected by the behavior. He asked for answers by the end of this week.
"I thank you for your prompt response to these requests to ensure that U.S. Bank, N.A. remains in compliance with its depository and consumer protection obligations here in New York City," Lander wrote.
The City of New York Office of the Comptroller referenced other scandals involving employees opening accounts that customers were unaware of, a reference to the Wells Fargo scandal where compensation incentives drove its own fake accounts saga.
"This conduct, which according to the consent order persisted for over a decade even as other institutions paid record-breaking fines for similar misconduct, appears to be the byproduct of a problematic incentive compensation program that drove profits for U.S. Bank, N.A. while extracting fees from consumers by violating their data privacy," Lander said in the letter.
U.S. Bank declined to comment. The bank has no branches in New York, according to its website.
In response to a question from Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, chair of the Senate Banking Committee last week, U.S. Bank CEO Andy Cecere said the bank identified 342 accounts related to the scandal "against the population of 40 million opened accounts."
"It's unacceptable," he said. "It's inconsistent with our principles and procedures as well as our ethics."
