Wells Fargo Faces Big Hit In Future Customer Defections, Survey Finds

Wells Fargo & Co., Colorado’s largest bank, stands to lose lose billions in deposits and one in seven of its retail customers, who won’t be so easily replaced following a scandal over the creation of 2 million unauthorized accounts, according to a new survey. “It is a huge breach of trust and erodes the relatively good perception that folks had of Wells Fargo before this,” said Stephen Beck, a founder and managing partner of cg42, a New York management consultant. The firm conducted an online survey of 1,000 Wells Fargo customers and 500 customers at other banks to determine their attitudes about the San Francisco-based bank following a $185 million fine from state and federal regulators for the creation of the bogus accounts. More than 85 percent of the consumers surveyed said they were aware of the bank’s problems, although only 3 percent of the Wells Fargo customers surveyed said they had been directly affected by them. Still, about 30 percent of the bank’s customers surveyed said they were actively exploring alternatives and 14 percent said they had already decided to switch financial providers. Related ArticlesOctober 19, 2016 Attorney general leads criminal probe of Wells Fargo bank October 12, 2016 Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf stepping down amid scandal September 30, 2016 Wells Fargo customers won’t be able to sue the bank over fake accounts September 28, 2016 Bank at Wells Fargo?