Wells Fargo Wide Reaching Fallout

You cut-up your Wells Fargo check card right after they took over your First Union - Wachovia Bank account. Now your laughing at those who stayed with the super mega bank.

Not so fast sweetheart....

CP thinks the joke is likely on you. Behind the scenes, bankers at 5th Third, Yadkin and BB&T are reportedly scrambling to review their accounts and incentive programs.

If you're an idiot like Elizabeth Warren you're too busy tending to your own hubris agenda and screaming at Well Fargo's CEO to understand that every bank employee at every bank in the nation has an incentive program that mirrors Wells Fargo in one way or another.

That's why the second tier banks are spending crazy amounts of overtime wages scouring signature cards and credit card applications, comparing new account forms to existing account data on file.

As the review continues, it is also expanding. At one bank a review of one month's new credit card applications started by only looking at recently opened but un-activated credit cards. That review was to confirm the signatures were the same. If the review turned up different signatures or the reviewer thought the comparison was inconclusive the process was escalated for additional review, and if needed a call to the customer.

Word is that the review is now expanding to prior months and is expected to continue into 2017. The costs of these in-depth reviews will of course be passed to customers and shareholders.

The bottom line is the Wells Fargo fiasco is going to cost you one way or another even if you are not a Wells Fargo customer.

CP Bonus: If you think the new account scam is just at banks guess again. There is a huge push by retailers like Lowes, Belk, Target and more to get you to open a "house branded credit card". That cashier isn't trying to be nice, there's a bounty on your head. There's an cash incentive sometimes pretty large paid to low level sales clerks to get you to open an new credit card account.

Already have a Talbot's Credit Card no problem lets open another one for you. How? Just watch the sales clerk enter your name just slightly different than your original card and bam you're got two accounts. Doesn't matter if you use the card the sales associate gets a bonus and your credit score gets dinged.