If you’ve kept even a casual eye on the banking world lately, you know Wells Fargo has basically been the poster child for regulatory drama. For years, it felt like every time we turned around, there was another headline about a scandal, a fine, or a new restriction. But honestly, the CFPB consent order Wells Fargo faced back in 2022 was the big one. It was massive—a $3.7 billion settlement that forced the bank to reckon with how it treated millions of everyday people.
Now that we’re sitting in 2026, the dust is finally starting to settle. The news cycle moves fast, but the ripple effects of that specific order are still dictating how the bank operates today. It wasn't just about a "oops, our bad" fine. It was about fundamental failures in auto loans, mortgages, and even basic checking accounts.
What actually went down with the $3.7 billion order?
Let’s get into the weeds for a second because the numbers are kinda staggering. In December 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) dropped the hammer. They ordered Wells Fargo to pay $2 billion in redress to consumers and a $1.7 billion civil penalty.
Why? Because the bank had been "rinse-repeating" illegal activity for years.
Specifically, they were:
- Messing up auto loans: We’re talking about $1.3 billion in harm. They were incorrectly applying payments and, in the worst cases, literally repossessing cars that people were actually paying for.
- Mortgage modification fails: They improperly denied thousands of loan modifications. Imagine trying to save your home, qualifying for help, and getting rejected because of a computer glitch or bad paperwork. People lost their houses over this.
- Surprise overdraft fees: They were hitting people with fees even when they had enough money at the time of the transaction.
- Frozen accounts: They used a "faulty automated filter" to freeze over a million accounts, locking people out of their own money for weeks just because the system thought there might be a suspicious deposit.
It was a mess. Pure and simple.
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The January 2025 turning point
Fast forward a bit. By early 2025, things started to shift. On January 28, 2025, Wells Fargo announced that the 2022 CFPB consent order had officially terminated. This was a huge deal for Charlie Scharf, the CEO who’s been trying to clean up the kitchen since 2019.
Termination doesn't mean the mistakes didn't happen. It means the regulators finally agreed that Wells Fargo had fixed the "risk and control" plumbing that allowed those mistakes to happen in the first place. This was actually the seventh order they’ve cleared since 2019. By April 2025, they cleared another one from 2018, bringing the total to twelve resolved orders.
The "Asset Cap" elephant in the room
You can't talk about Wells Fargo without mentioning the Federal Reserve's asset cap. For a long time, the Fed basically told Wells, "You can't grow. You have to stay under $1.95 trillion until you prove you can behave."
Entering 2026, that "emergency brake" is finally gone. In June 2025, the Fed lifted the cap, allowing the bank to actually start competing with the big dogs like JPMorgan and BofA again. You can see the results in their recent numbers—their assets grew 11% year-over-year as of early 2026.
Why you should still care about this today
You might think, "Okay, the fine is paid, the order is closed, why does this matter to me now?"
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Well, it matters because of redress. Even though the order is terminated, the bank is still on the hook for making sure everyone who was harmed actually gets their money. If you had an auto loan or a mortgage with Wells Fargo between 2011 and 2022, you might have already seen a check in the mail—or you might still be waiting on specific remediations related to "GAP" insurance refunds or fee reversals.
Also, the banking industry as a whole is watching. The CFPB under Director Rohit Chopra used the Wells Fargo case to set a precedent. They basically signaled that "recidivism"—doing the same bad stuff over and over—will result in fines that aren't just a "cost of doing business" but are actually painful enough to force change.
What most people get wrong about the settlements
A common misconception is that all these settlements are for the "fake accounts" scandal from 2016.
Nope.
That was just the tip of the iceberg. The CFPB consent order Wells Fargo settled in 2022 was about operational incompetence in their core lending businesses. It wasn't just about sales reps opening accounts without permission; it was about the bank's internal systems failing to accurately track who owed what.
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Another mistake? Thinking the bank is "out of the woods." While they've cleared the 2022 CFPB order, they still have a few lingering regulatory headaches from the OCC (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency) regarding anti-money laundering and older 2015-era violations. They are "stronger," as Scharf likes to say, but they aren't totally "done."
Actionable steps for Wells Fargo customers
If you think you were caught up in any of this—specifically the auto loan or mortgage issues mentioned in the consent orders—here’s what you should actually do:
- Check your mail (the physical kind): Most redress is handled via check. If you’ve moved in the last few years, the bank might have an old address on file.
- Use the "Redress Review" programs: As part of a separate $575 million settlement with state attorneys general, Wells Fargo had to create a portal for people who feel they weren't fully "made whole" by the initial rounds of refunds.
- Review your "GAP" insurance: If you had an auto loan that you paid off early or that resulted in a repossession, you might be owed a refund for the unused portion of your Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP) insurance. This was a major focus of the CFPB.
- Watch your overdrafts: While the bank has changed its policies, it’s worth looking at your statements from 2022 and earlier. If you see "surprise" fees where you had a positive balance at the time of the swipe, you were likely eligible for part of that $205 million deposit account refund.
Banking with a giant like Wells Fargo is a lot different in 2026 than it was in 2016. The oversight is tighter, the penalties are higher, and the bank is finally growing again. Just keep a close eye on your statements—even the "cleaned up" version of a bank is still a bank.
Next Steps for Your Finances: Confirm your current contact information is updated in the Wells Fargo portal to ensure you receive any trailing remediation notices. If you believe you were unfairly charged a fee during the 2011–2022 period and haven't received a credit, contact the Wells Fargo "Redress Review" team directly to open an inquiry.