Abstract

Using Consumer Financial Protection Bureau complaints around Wells Fargo’s September 2016 enforcement disclosure, we study whether enforcement changes customers’ decisions to formalize problems as claims, a process we call claim production. A synthetic difference-in-differences design estimates a 71% increase in Wells Fargo’s average monthly complaint flow during the three months following the action. Bank-account complaints also rise and remain elevated six months later. After the action, Wells Fargo’s timely-response rate for complaints falls by 45%. The complaint increase recurs after similar actions at other banks. Beyond fines and restitution, enforcement actions create additional formal claims that firms must process.

Monthly Wells Fargo complaints and the SDiD comparison path

Two line charts compare Wells Fargo monthly complaints with synthetic difference-in-differences comparison paths. The series track each other before September 2016. Wells Fargo complaints then rise sharply for both total and bank-account complaints while the comparison paths remain stable.

Weekly timely response after complaints reach the company

Three line charts compare Wells Fargo timely-response rates with comparison institutions. Rates are similar before September 2016, then Wells Fargo rates fall sharply across all products, bank-account complaints, and account-management complaints. Comparison rates remain near 100 percent.

Complaints increase in the categories named by 18 unique CFPB actions

Event-study chart of complaints in categories named by Consumer Financial Protection Bureau actions. Estimates are near zero before the action and rise sharply in week 0. Post-action estimates remain positive, although several later confidence intervals include zero.

Citation

Osman, Syed Muhammad Ishraque, and Nicholas R. Pusateri. 2026. “To File or Not to File: Customer Claims and Firm Response After the Wells Fargo Enforcement Action.” Working Paper. URL: https://nicpusateri.com/claim-production.

@article{osman2026file,
  title={To File or Not to File: Customer Claims and Firm Response After the Wells Fargo Enforcement Action},
  author={Osman, Syed Muhammad Ishraque and Pusateri, Nicholas R.},
  journal={Working Paper},
  year={2026},
  url={https://nicpusateri.com/claim-production},
  }