A Wells Fargo branch in New York (Photo: Bloomberg)
Two U.S. senators are asking Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf to respond to questions about the bank's "pausing" of mortgage payments without borrowers' consent as part of a program tied to fallout from the coronavirus.
Sens Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hi.), sent Scharf a letter Wednesday, about two weeks after NBC reported dozens of such actions by Wells Fargo.
"These reports are highly disturbing given Wells Fargo's recent history of illegal behavior and inappropriate treatment of customers, including over a dozen scandals involving the creation of millions of fake customer accounts, illegal repossession of service-members' cars, wrongful foreclosure on hundreds of homes, illegal add-on charges to customers' accounts and much, much more," the lawmakers wrote.
As part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Wells Fargo gave borrowers facing hardship a forbearance option that lets them delay payments on mortgages for up to six months and in some cases for up to 12 months.
Borrowers who were mistakenly put into these forbearance plans learned of the bank's actions from their lawyers, according to the report. Forbearance filings can put bank clients' homes at risk of foreclosure and may represent a fraud against the bankruptcy court, according to Warren and Schatz.
The lawmakers also say that due to how loan servicers are compensated for forbearance, Wells Fargo may have been able to profit from the forbearance filing.
