Wells Fargo's (WFC) $185 million hit in civil penalties for secretly opening millions of accounts without customers' permission is just the latest regulatory black eye for the bank. Wells Fargo, the biggest U.S. bank by stock market value, Thursday agreed to pay $100 million in restitution to victims to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fund, as well as a $35 million penalty to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and $50 million to the city and county of Los Angeles. The bank agreed to pay the fine in connection to actions allegedly committed by more about 5,300 to open accounts unbeknownst to customers and racking up fees as a result. "It's serious. It shows rogue employees and management that's not effective," says Erik Oja, analyst at S&P Global Equity Research, pointing out that at this point it's unclear how widespread this alleged fraud was. "It shows bad incentives as well." (USA Today)
Describe the challenge that Wells Fargo is facing in relation to them opening up unauthorized accounts for their customers.