WASHINGTON, DC – After Wells Fargo admitted that as many as 570,000 customers may have been charged premiums for unwanted auto insurance they did not need, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) are leading the call for a for a public hearing to review consumer rights violations by Wells Fargo.

All of the Democratic members of the Senate Banking Committee joined Reed, Warren, and Brown in sending a letter to Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID) calling for a September hearing with Wells Fargo CEO Timothy Sloan and Board of Directors Chair Stephen Sanger, to receive testimony about new developments in the bank’s fake-accounts scandal and related matters.

“Wells Fargo must be held accountable and the Banking Committee needs to examine further why Wells Fargo’s internal controls do not seem to protect their customers.  There is a troubling pattern here, and before providing mega-banks with further regulatory relief, the Banking Committee should do its homework,” said Senator Reed.  “We also need to look at the broader issue of how current law shields corporations at the expense of consumers.  Customers who have been wronged deserve the opportunity to seek justice.  But the forced arbitration clauses tucked into the fine print of Wells Fargo contracts are denying many Americans their day in court.  That is not fair.  But instead of updating the law and going after corporate wrongdoers, the Trump Administration wants to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which recently fined Wells Fargo.”

In a letter to Chairman Crapo, the Democrats noted a series of significant developments related to the bank’s misconduct that have emerged in the ten months since former Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf testified before the committee.  This includes information suggesting that more customers than previously thought were affected by the fake accounts scam; that the bank reportedly signed up customers for insurance products and applied fees without authorization; and that the bank may have retaliated against employees, who attempted to report wrongdoing to management.

The senators wrote: “Many Committee members have sought additional information from Wells Fargo about these developments, with varying degrees of success. A hearing would give members the opportunity to hear directly from the bank’s top leadership about these developments.” The Democratic Committee members explained that a hearing would provide a chance to question bank leaders about Wells Fargo’s efforts to compensate customers harmed in the fake-accounts scandal.

The letter also noted that a hearing would offer insight into the ongoing debate in Congress over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) new forced arbitration rule.  Republicans have said that the CFPB rule could harm consumers.  Wells Fargo has reportedly used forced arbitration clauses to prevent customers from suing in court for damages arising from the creation of fake accounts in their names. The senators wrote that a hearing would allow the Banking Committee to obtain more information about this prominent use of forced arbitration clauses.

In addition to Warren, Brown, and Reed, the letter was signed by Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Jon Tester (D-MT), Mark Warner (D-VA), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV).