In the News

It Shouldn’t Be So Hard to Dump Your Bank

Michael Barr and Joe Valenti discuss the Wells Fargo scandal and how to ensure stronger financial protections for consumers.

The scandal involving Wells Fargo opening more than 2 million unauthorized accounts has prompted obvious questions over whether other banks engaged in similar practices. It also has likely motivated some customers to want to dump their financial institution. This same impulse came up before during the financial crisis as Americans protested financial institutions they felt were not serving them well. After all, voting with your feet is an important part of holding banks accountable for misdeeds.

Yet few Americans actually dump one bank in favor of another.

The above excerpt was originally published in American Banker. Click here to view the full article.

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Authors

Michael Barr

Senior Fellow

Joe Valenti

Director, Consumer Finance