Wells Fargo Pays $3.6 Million Fine Over Student-Loan Servicing

Wells Fargo & Co. will pay $3.6 million to the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and $410,000 in restitution to settle the regulator’s claims over student-loan servicing policies that it says boosted costs for borrowers.

Thousands of student-loan borrowers encountered problems with their loans or received misinformation about their payment options, because of breakdowns in Wells Fargo’s servicing process, the bureau said in a statement Monday.

“Wells Fargo hit borrowers with illegal fees and deprived others of critical information needed to effectively manage their student loan accounts,” CFPB Director Richard Cordray said in the statement. “Consumers should be able to rely on their servicer to process and credit payments correctly and to provide accurate and timely information and we will continue our work to improve the student loan servicing market.”