Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., slammed Wells Fargo on Thursday after the embattled bank disclosed that its decision to scrap personal lines of credit could impact customers’ credit scores.
“Not a single @WellsFargo customer should see their credit score suffer just because their bank is restructuring after years of scams and incompetence,” Warren wrote on Twitter. “Sending out a warning notice simply isn’t good enough – Wells Fargo needs to make this right.”
Wells Fargo representatives said the bank is providing customers with a 60-day notice period and a “series of reminders” regarding the credit shutdown. In a letter to customers, Wells Fargo said the change “may have an impact on your credit score.”
Wells Fargo did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Warren’s remarks. CNBC was first to report on the bank’s decision and warning to customers.
“As we simplify our product offerings, we made the decision last year to no longer offer personal lines of credit as we feel we can better meet the borrowing needs of our customers through credit card and personal loan products,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. “We realize change can be inconvenient, especially when customer credit may be impacted.”
Warren emerged as one of Wells Fargo’s most prominent critics since 2016, when the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau uncovered evidence that employees had opened millions of fraudulent credit card accounts in customers’ names. The Federal Reserve placed a growth cap on Wells Fargo in 2018.
