NYC Won’t Open Wells Fargo Accounts Over Racial Disparities (1)

New York City vowed not to open any new bank accounts with Wells Fargo & Co. after a Bloomberg News investigation found the bank approved Black homeowners seeking to refinance mortgages in the pandemic at a far lower rate than White ones.

In a joint letter to Chief Executive Officer Charlie Scharf on Friday, New York Mayor Eric Adams and Comptroller Brad Lander pointed to what they called the “checkered history” of Wells Fargo’s mortgage business going back to the 2008 financial crisis when the bank and others were accused of steering Black applicants into high-interest subprime mortgages.

“In light ...