Wells Fargo: Elizabeth Warren calls for breakup of big bank

Michael Brächer 14 hrs ago. In a letter to the Fed, the Democrat urges that the fourth-largest bank in the U.S. abandon its investment activities. There is no other way to address the "risk management deficiencies." This proposal from Massachusetts is unlikely to please the major bank Wells Fargo: In a letter to the Fed, Democratic Representative Elizabeth Warren calls for the big bank to be broken up. The Democrat demands that the universal banking business with the savings deposits of customers be separated from the investment bank on Wall Street, reports the "New York Times". The bank must give up its investment banking activities on Wall Street, Warren said. That's the only way to ensure that "its senior leadership devotes its full attention to addressing its many chronic risk management deficiencies." It's not Elizabeth Warren's first media-savvy demand. The Democrat is classified as belonging to the left-wing spectrum of her party and has caused controversy in the past with her call for a higher tax on the super-rich, for example. Fake accounts, penalties, special conditions The Fed confirmed receipt of the letter, but did not comment on the demand's chances of success. The bank itself also apparently would not initially comment on Warren's letter. Wells Fargo is considered the fourth-largest bank in the United States. The bank had already admitted in 2016 that for years it had kept dummy accounts that could not be assigned to real customers. Last year, the bank had agreed to a settlement with the Department of Justice and the SEC for $3 billion. Wells Fargo's business is still subject to special requirements. The shareholders of the institution now apparently see the demand of the Democrat calmly: The price of Wells Fargo shares increased slightly.