© Reuters. A Wells Fargo logo is seen at the SIBOS banking and financial conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada October 19, 2017. Picture taken October 19, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Photo
(Reuters) -Wells Fargo said on Thursday the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) had terminated a 2016 consent order tied to its sales practice misconduct, sending the bank’s shares up more than 5%.
The move marks the sixth consent order that regulators have terminated for the bank since 2019, CEO Charlie Scharf said. Wells Fargo has been working to fix compliance issues that erupted from a 2016 scandal over its sales practices.
“I have repeatedly said that implementing a risk and control framework appropriate for a bank of our size and complexity is our top priority, and closing consent orders is an important sign of our progress,” Scharf said in a statement.
Scharf became CEO in 2019, the fourth person to lead Wells Fargo since the scandal emerged. He has since been the face of the bank’s turnaround plan looking to cut costs after the lender racked up billions in lawsuits and regulatory fines.
The bank is still operating under an asset cap that prevents it from growing until regulators deem that it has fixed its problems. The scandal has also led to hefty fines.
The OCC’s 2016 consent order sought changes in the way Wells Fargo offered and sold products and services to consumers and required the lender to take additional actions to protect its customers and employees.