After a rough week where the company fell short of its earnings expectations, Wells Fargo followed with news that it will close over 400 branches across the nation.
The bank continues to clean up from its massive fake accounts scandal announced back in September 2016.
Wells Fargo posted a loss of $746 million in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2016. In fact, in a release of the earnings call transcript, provided by Seeking Alpha, the Chief Financial Officer of Wells Fargo, Tim Sloan, reports that very same scandal is dragging down its mortgage referral business.
Now, the bank will look to save $2 billion in costs by the end of 2018, according to an article in CNN Money. Ryan Smith for Mortgage Professional America.
From the article:
Wells Fargo said the new branch closures haven't been fueled by the bank's fake account scandal.
However, Wall Street analysts do see a link. Not only does Wells Fargo face rising legal and compliance costs to clean up the mess, but its branches aren't likely to be the profit engines they once were.
But these aren’t even the first closings the bank has seen, the article points out. Wells Fargo closed 84 branches in 2016, mostly in the second half.
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