To File or Not to File: Stakeholder Claims After the Wells Fargo Enforcement Action

Abstract

Public enforcement can do more than disclose misconduct. It can turn unresolved customer problems into formal claims routed to the firm. Using the September 2016 Wells Fargo enforcement action and CFPB complaints routed for response, we find that total complaints rose 70.6 percent and Bank account or service complaints rose 152.5 percent, beginning September 8, directly after the action. Complaints concentrate in products and issues named by regulators. Results are stable across comparison pools, timing and weighting windows, and donor-dependence checks. The evidence identifies claim production: enforcement moved customer problems into the firm’s response, compliance, and supervisory systems.

Citation

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

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