Wells Fargo Fires Bankers for Expense Policy Violations

This isn’t WF only issue - most of the BBs have done something similar over the last couple of years and put stronger systems in place and/or got people in trouble. Unfortunately “well people have been doing it for years” or “everyone does it” defense didn’t fly. Same with cab / Uber receipt.

That is pretty harsh. I wonder if they fired someone who got hungry at 6:20 rather than 6:30 and then proceeded to work until 3 or 4 in the morning...

On the other hand, there is always that person who orders dinner at the office on Friday at 5:30, meets the delivery guy downstairs, and heads home with it. Less sympathy there.

Why don't they give a heads-up and just take the money out of the analyst's salary or something? Feel that's more reasonable than firing someone and going through the hiring process

It's kinda sad that the first thing that popped up in my mind was... when are full time apps opening up again?

I know this seems like a harsh reaction for a small offense. But technically they defrauded the company. They submitted and signed documents with information they falsified, specifically for the purpose of going around the stated reimbursement policy and getting paid.

I think many places would slap someone on the wrist for this, and it wouldn't surprise me if it was done with a wink and a nod from upper management. It also wouldn't completely surprise me if certain high performers who got mixed up in this received more lenient treatment. But this is Wells Fargo. Unless you've been under a rock lately you know they've got a culture problem with issues just like this, and they're desperate to fix it. I feel for those who lost their jobs over something so small. But at the same time, come on. No one should have known better that it was a stupid time to play fast and loose with the rules.

I'm shocked to see people defending this. Did you not read the article? Doctoring receipts seems like clear cut fraud. Can't imagine working for an MD who's judgement is so poor that they commit fraud to get $20 worth of Chinese food. Seriously, who does that?

They reported "a dozen" layoffs, but it was closer to ~30.

Their peers turned them in. Looks like some internal backstabbing/gamesmanship more than the results of an errant investigation.

WF never wanted to be at the top of the league table and they're actively reducing syndications and DCM. Sounds like they were looking to reduce staff and these folks volunteered.

Rumor has it was mostly analysts and associates who were the culprits. Since the layoffs several senior bankers, including all (or nearly all) VPs and up in one vertical quit and went to another bank in response.

I worked for Wells Fargo in their multifamily real estate capital group and I traveled extensively. I always got the cheapest flight, the cheapest car, the cheapest hotel, and the cheapest meals. My colleagues would abuse the fuck out of the expense program, staying at expensive hotels in hot locations, renting nice cars, and going to expensive restaurants. For whatever reason, I just always felt an ethical duty to my employer to not abuse the system.

I'm guessing this also may have been a way to stealthily lay people off without labeling it as such and avoid paying severance. Definitely not a coincidence that the investigation happened right before bonuses.

I wonder if any summer interns were affected, offers pulled for this scandal.

Seems to me the bank might have been looking for an excuse to cull their IB division and these people delivered themselves on a silver platter. Stick to the published rules and per-diem and you have no issues.

That whole place seems to be a mess; they're back on the news again this morning... maybe they just need to dismantle and rebuild themselves from the ground up.

This isn’t fraud if the people changing the receipts thought their meal expenses were being rejected because of an error in an automated system. Like if their policy states $25 for dinner if working after 7pm, and analysts order at 6:45pm with the anticipation that they will be working for at least 15 more minutes, then I don’t see an issue - they met the criteria for the reimbursement and are being blocked improperly by the automated system. Imagine if they were paying cash and ordering by phone - there would be no issue with calling at 6:45 for delivery after 7pm.

I think it’s much more likely that people were just straight up lying about their expenses.

i think it’s curious that an internal whistleblower raised the issue to management. banks have strictly regulated procedures surrounding whistleblowers which include making sure management takes action on any issues raised.

management might've felt like their hands were tied after someone flagged this to them. i wouldn’t be shocked at all if the snitch....whoops i mean whistleblower had some other motive besides weirdly strict compliance with late night seamless policy. based on the little i’ve read, it sounds like a lot of people were canned for breaking early dinner order rules that people violate every night in every bank and law firm across the country. If so, this really sucks and I feel some sympathy for the people let go.

Can confirm from friends that people were getting canned for leaving before 8. Kinda ridiculous considering some of those people apparently had worked till 2/3 am the night before and on many other occasions.

Yet another reason not to work at WF

I know a couple of analysts there so I have some insight here and it was not just ordering early, it was falsifying the receipts to change the timestamp (and sometimes the dollar amount), and people also were buying alcohol with their expense dollars (which is against the policy), and using doctored receipts to hide the booze. Obviously, we've all found little expense tips and tricks so it's easy to see the punishment as pretty harsh, but don't really blame management here. Doctoring the receipts isn't an innocent error or little thing, it's a pretty serious incidence of premeditated fraud. For a bank trying to change the culture, stay out of the news, and also cut costs, I get it. Feel bad for the kids, but I get it.

From my knowledge, this is a pretty common practice on the Street. Times have changed though, everything is scrutinized under a microscope.