Wells Fargo & Co. engaged in an “extensive and pervasive pattern” of discriminatory and illegal lending practices for years, a U.S. regulator said in slashing a key rating of how the bank serves communities, triggering restrictions that may hamper its growth.
While examiners credited Wells Fargo for “excellent responsiveness” in meeting customers’ credit needs, 10 government inquiries over the past decade prompted the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to lower its overall score of the company’s compliance with community banking laws to “needs to improve.” Enforcement cases cited by the OCC had faulted the bank’s treatment of minority...