WIth two massive scandals within 5 years I think this bank should be broken up as part of its punishment. It's clearly too big to run an honest consumer safe business.
It should be seized and either converted into a credit union (give ownership to the affected people) or a state run non-profit banking service. (And also implement the proposals for the postal service to offer banking services)
That would avoid both a lot of smaller wells fargos doing worse things and further financial damage to the economy, clients, and workers of splitting up a private company.
Oh, honey
Most of those employees are just normal people trying to make a living, and it would be wrong to screw them because their bosses, who they never met or had anything to do with, did something wrong.
Shutting down a company is the nuclear option -- it hurts many people who did nothing wrong, including most of the employees and the shareholders. It is not justice.
Without advocating for/against the proposal, to clarify: typically this means either business units are spun out as smaller companies, or sold off to competitors. You’d expect some job losses due to consolidation but it’s not like you are closing down all of the branches and sending everyone working there home.
This is especially bad for a bank. Customers would freak out and leave. I can't find a single historical example of a bank breakup that didn't result in the destruction of the entire business.
Like, asbestos miners losing their jobs was a necessary result of shutting down the asbestos industry. It's not that it's fair, but it's not a reason to keep mining asbestos. Obviously ideally Wells Fargo could be reformed somehow, but the "corporate death penalty"[0] exists for a reason!
But it does send a message to the broader industry. Sometimes a few rouge cancer cells can kill the entire host. And this is the second time around for them.
2) A vacuum provide ample opportunity for these people to start a new, honest bank as if there will be a need for it.
3) Sometimes evil just needs to be shutdown, Im sorry these people are working for a criminal organization, someone should have spoken up (Whistleblower money is huge for these types of things).
Boo-fukken-hoo. They were all part of the problem - the grease of the machinery if you will; something this bad doesn't go unnoticed by so many people. This was clearly an "inside job" with many, many people involved internally.
I would have no sympathy for any of them, even if they'd end up losing their own homes as a result (sweet, sweet irony that would be!)