Wells Fargo reaches $575M agreement to settle state consumer protection claims

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Wells Fargo Bank will pay $575 million to settle claims that it violated state consumer protection laws over several sales practices, including creating unauthorized accounts, according to a release from the office of Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller. The settlement covers all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Iowa joined Arizona, Connecticut and Pennsylvania in leading the investigation into Wells Fargo’s practices. Iowa’s share of the settlement is nearly $6.2 million, which will go to the state’s Consumer Education and Litigation Fund. Reuters reported that as of the end of the third quarter, Wells Fargo had set aside $400 million of the settlement amount and expects to set aside the remaining $175 million by the end of this year. After reaching settlements with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Los Angeles city attorney and the New York attorney general, Wells Fargo still faces probes by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Justice and the Department of Labor, according to its most recent securities filing, Reuters said.