A federal judge ordered Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) on Tuesday to pay California customers $203 million in restitution for claims that it had manipulated transactions to maximize the amount of overdraft fees that it could charge.
Wells Fargo processed transactions from largest to smallest rather than processing transactions in the order that they received, a judge in San Francisco found. In a 90-page opinion, United States District Judge William Alsup wrote that the practice was unfair and deceptive.
“The bank’s dominant, indeed sole, motive was to maximize the number of overdrafts and squeeze as much as possible” out of customers that spent more than they had in their accounts, the judge wrote.
“We’re disappointed with the judge’s ruling,” said Richele Messick, a bank spokeswoman. “We don’t believe the ruling is in line with the facts of the case.”
Shares of Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) opened at $27.77 during mid-day trading on Wednesday.
