wells fargo is expected to be hit with a fine from federal regulators for as much as $1 billion. The fine will be one of the largest in corporate history and will mark the first time that a big bank has been penalized under the Trump administration.

Most on Wall Street have benefited from the looser regulations and restrictions in place during Trump's presidency. He has however proclaimed that while regulations would be looser, cheaters would be punished harshly.

The main issue here lies with Wells Fargo's auto lending and their mortgage businesses.

In their auto lending department, they are accused to have been adding unwanted and unneeded insurance packages on their loans. These extra costs resulted in many people defaulting on their loans and having their vehicles repossessed. The insurance amounted to nothing more than an additional fee that customers were paying on top of their loan.

Their mortgage practices weren't any more ethical as they charged customer's unnecessary fees to lock in the interest rates on their mortgages. These costs, while not directly tied to default rates, were just another obstacle created by big banks that make it harder for the average American to buy a home.

Wells Fargo is the leading mortgage lending in the nation.

Yet another scandal

One reason for the massive fine being levied by the government, and not appealed by Wells Fargo, is their repeated bad behavior. These are two new scandals that are rocking the bank, but there was a previous one that was just as unethical.

In their consumer banking departments, millions of customers were unknowingly signed up for multiple checking, credit and savings accounts.

All of this was done in the effort to then charge those customers exorbitant fees related to those accounts.

When customers tried to close these accounts, they were met with heavy resistance from sales representatives.

The practice was finally abolished, but not before CEO John Stumpf had to step down. Ultimately, the blame was laid on a corporate culture that forced sales employees to go to any length to meet unrealistic quotas.

Will anything change?

The unfortunate answer is that this is likely not the last time that we will hear of Wells Fargo, or other big banks, being taken to task for unethical behavior. The reward is too great to skirt the rules so there will always be someone out there to take advantage of it.

What is more alarming in Wells Fargo's case is that they likely see the $1 billion fine as nothing more than a cost of doing business. This won't cripple the bank or send it towards bankruptcy by any means. Executives will still get bonuses, managers will still get their perks, and those at the bottom will likely still be under unattainable sales quotas, just now with fewer ways of meeting them.

The corporate banking culture is tough. But when it extends to taking advantage of the consumer, that's where the administration needs to draw the line, every time.
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