UF, Wells Fargo partnership not affected by scandal

UF’s relationship with Wells Fargo is not changing after a scandal involving employees opening secret accounts without customers’ knowledge.

About 5,300 employees were involved in opening the accounts and charging customers for non-existent fees, according to USA Today. The bank agreed to pay $185 million in civil penalties Thursday, including $50 million to the city and county of Los Angeles, California.

The bank repaid customers $2.6 million, according to USA Today.

No UF accounts were affected, wrote UF spokesperson Janine Sikes, in an email. At this time, nothing has changed regarding UF’s relationship with the company, she said.

It’s unclear if the scandal affected other Florida or Gainesville banks, Michael Gray, the North Florida Wells Fargo communications consultant, wrote in an email.

“We do not have a geographic breakdown for these announcements,” he wrote.

The secret accounts were opened over a five-year period, he said. Employees who were fired in relation to the scandal make up about 1 percent of the 100,000-person workforce.

Rainey Tyner, a first-year UF veterinary graduate student, said she switched to a Wells Fargo account when she started her undergraduate degree at UF about five years ago.

“I definitely felt pressured to switch to Wells Fargo,” the 22-year-old said. “If I wouldn’t have switched, then I wouldn’t have access to the ATMs on campus.”

Tyner said she wasn’t surprised to hear about the scandal.

“Banks are sketchy,” Tyner said. “Honestly, though, I haven’t had any problems with (Wells Fargo).”