Post by icemandios on Jul 8, 2021 15:07:54 GMT
Wells Fargo Infuriates Customers By Abruptly Shuttering Personal Credit Business
Tyler Durden's Photo
BY TYLER DURDEN
THURSDAY, JUL 08, 2021 - 10:52 AM
Wells Fargo just announced that it's shutting down all of its existing personal lines of credit - a popular product offered by the retail-focused Wall Street giant - a move that will likely infuriate legions of customers.
The revolving credit lines, which will be shut down in the coming weeks, typically allow users borrow $3K to $100K, were pitched as a way to consolidate higher-interest credit-card debt, pay for home renovations or avoid overdraft fees on checking accounts attached to the loan.
According to CNBC, it's the latest "difficult decision" facing Wells CEO Charlie Scharf, who is being forced to make cutbacks to the banks' business thanks to restrictions imposed by the Federal Reserve years ago as punishment for the bank's criminal scandals like the now-infamous scandal whereby branch managers opened credit lines for customers without permission. a scandal that outraged the public.
"Wells Fargo recently reviewed its product offerings and decided to discontinue offering new Personal and Portfolio line of credit accounts and close all existing accounts," the bank said in the six-page letter. The move would let the bank focus on credit cards and personal loans, it said.
The sudden closures will leave many customers without what may be a critical source of liquidity. What's worse, many will be penalized for the decision, making it more difficult for them to receive credit from a new source. Per CNBC, those whose credit lines are involuntarily closed will still see their FICO scores penalized as if they had elected to close the credit line willingly.
The last time banks did this, of course, was back in the summer of 2020, when many were unsure about the remaining purchasing power of the consumer (of course, trillions of dollars in federal stimulus money soon took care of that).
Tyler Durden's Photo
BY TYLER DURDEN
THURSDAY, JUL 08, 2021 - 10:52 AM
Wells Fargo just announced that it's shutting down all of its existing personal lines of credit - a popular product offered by the retail-focused Wall Street giant - a move that will likely infuriate legions of customers.
The revolving credit lines, which will be shut down in the coming weeks, typically allow users borrow $3K to $100K, were pitched as a way to consolidate higher-interest credit-card debt, pay for home renovations or avoid overdraft fees on checking accounts attached to the loan.
According to CNBC, it's the latest "difficult decision" facing Wells CEO Charlie Scharf, who is being forced to make cutbacks to the banks' business thanks to restrictions imposed by the Federal Reserve years ago as punishment for the bank's criminal scandals like the now-infamous scandal whereby branch managers opened credit lines for customers without permission. a scandal that outraged the public.
"Wells Fargo recently reviewed its product offerings and decided to discontinue offering new Personal and Portfolio line of credit accounts and close all existing accounts," the bank said in the six-page letter. The move would let the bank focus on credit cards and personal loans, it said.
The sudden closures will leave many customers without what may be a critical source of liquidity. What's worse, many will be penalized for the decision, making it more difficult for them to receive credit from a new source. Per CNBC, those whose credit lines are involuntarily closed will still see their FICO scores penalized as if they had elected to close the credit line willingly.
The last time banks did this, of course, was back in the summer of 2020, when many were unsure about the remaining purchasing power of the consumer (of course, trillions of dollars in federal stimulus money soon took care of that).