The San Francisco-based bank warned for months that charge-offs were likely to start rising as some office-related loans went bad. It began to happen in the fourth quarter, which could be an omen for regional banks that have larger concentrations in the office sector.

Across the industry, the pace of branch shutdowns slowed this year. Still, large financial institutions continued to trim their physical footprints, with two super-regional banks taking the most aggressive actions.

JPMorgan Chase now tops Wells Fargo in third-party servicing, origination volume and on-balance-sheet home loans, according to company filings.

The company is rolling out a special-purpose credit program to help address what it describes as "the biggest barriers to achieving homeownership." Such programs are gaining popularity among banks.

The bank, which already agreed to refund home loan applicants over the charges, is asking a federal judge to toss the suit on numerous grounds.

Under settlements with the SEC, Wells Fargo and BNP Paribas will pay millions of dollars in penalties for employees using unofficial communications like WhatsApp. In all 11 firms agreed to pay penalties, while the CFTC took separate actions.

Both the plaintiffs and the bank filed a motion for the federal court to reconsider the settlement, which was reached in mid- 2022, but the judge responded that neither party articulated "sufficient reasoning to meet the high bar."

Wells Fargo directed its bilingual team to steer customers away from products with no closing costs toward "predatory lending options" without disclosing the costs, in part by refusing to provide Spanish-language written materials, according to the complaint.

Wells Fargo is pursuing private mediation to settle claims of widespread discrimination against Black homeowners by denying them lower interest rates through refinancing and forcing them to pay more for loans.

The firm reported $13.3 billion in NII in the first three months of the year, up 45% from a year earlier and more than the 42% jump analysts expected. That gain helped counter a surge in provisions for souring loans.

The cuts add to thousands across the home-lending industry in recent months after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates and cooled what had been a red-hot housing market.

The government set forth five principles companies should follow when they use artificial intelligence. Chintan Mehta, CIO of strategy, digital and innovation at Wells Fargo, shares how one of the largest banks does it.

The bank's delay in investigating the case forced the plaintiff to resign from the bank in July 2021, according to the complaint. Wells said that it takes allegations of misconduct "very seriously."

The layoffs were a result of the bank's decision to exit the channel, a spokeswoman confirmed.

Wells Fargo kept Chief Executive Charlie Scharf's pay at $24.5 million for 2022, a year in which both profit and stock tumbled and the bank continued to grapple with the fallout from a raft of scandals.

The company will also be reducing its servicing portfolio.

Rohit Chopra, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, said the bank is "not making rapid progress" and hinted at the possibility of additional restrictions. But analysts saw positives for Wells in the $3.7 billion consent order.

Wells Fargo cut hundreds more mortgage employees Thursday, the latest in a series of reductions across the industry after higher interest rates brought the pandemic-era home-lending boom to halt.

Kristy Fercho, who's run the bank's home lending division since August 2020, will report directly to CEO Charlie Scharf and sit on the operating committee. Last year, she became the first Black person to chair the Mortgage Bankers Association, and she took the top spot in American Banker's Most Powerful Women to Watch this year.

The move will reduce the excess capacity in the field but the effects on servicing are likely to dampen the Federal Housing Administration market, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods said.