The Federal Reserve Board announced on 5 March 2026 the termination of its 2018 consent order against Wells Fargo & Company, drawing a formal close to an enforcement action that had required the bank to demonstrate effective and sustained improvements to its governance and risk-management programme. The decision followed the completion of two independent third-party reviews that verified the adequacy of the changes Wells Fargo had implemented over nearly a decade under continuous Federal Reserve oversight.
Among its conditions was an asset cap that limited Wells Fargo's total balance sheet. That asset cap had already been removed in 2025, after Wells Fargo satisfied the specific conditions attached to it.
NEARLY A DECADE UNDER FEDERAL OVERSIGHT
Remediation work spanned close to ten years under continuous Federal Reserve oversight. The order arose from consumer protection and governance shortcomings at the bank.
In a separate 2022 action, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ordered Wells Fargo to pay more than $2 billion in redress to consumers and a $1.7 billion civil penalty over the mismanagement of auto loans, mortgages and deposit accounts.
The Federal Reserve's decision to terminate the order followed the completion of two third-party reviews that independently verified the effectiveness of the governance and risk-management improvements Wells Fargo had put in place.
STATUS AFTER TERMINATION
The termination removes the reporting and compliance obligations attached to the 2018 enforcement action. Wells Fargo will continue to be subject to the full range of standard supervisory requirements that apply to systemically important financial institutions.
The Federal Reserve's press release, published on its website on 5 March 2026, confirmed the terms of the termination and noted the completion of the third-party verification process.
Bank news that matters, every weekday.
Follow The Global Banker on LinkedIn