By Maria Armental 

Wells Fargo & Co. has reached a $110 million tentative agreement to resolve a class-action complaint over allegations that some of its employees opened accounts and pushed services without customers' consent or approval.

If approved by the court, it would be the first private-party settlement and it would cover customers starting in Jan. 1, 2009. The San Francisco bank says the proposed settlement could resolve 11 related cases.

Most noticeably, Wells Fargo agreed not to invoke contracts' arbitration clauses, one of the issues on which legislators had zeroed in as the retails-sales scandal unfolded.

Wells Fargo had sought to use the arbitration clauses, common in financial products and services, to block customers from suing for damages related to the unauthorized accounts and services, such as lower credit scores or higher borrowing costs.

"This agreement is another step in our journey to make things right with customers and rebuild trust," Chief Executive Officer Tim Sloan said in a prepared statement.

The proposed $110 million payout would be on top of the $185 million the bank had to pay after regulators found "widespread illegal" sales practices starting in 2011.

Wells Fargo -- which Tuesday said it had already set aside the money for the proposed settlement -- is still trying to determine how many people were affected and how they should be compensated.

The retail-sales scandal, which put the bank in the crosshairs of congressional leaders and banking regulators, has cost the bank significant business and led to the resignation of chairman and chief executive John Stumpf.

Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 28, 2017 21:59 ET (01:59 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024 Click Here for more Wells Fargo Charts.
Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024 Click Here for more Wells Fargo Charts.