Trump administration hid report revealing Wells Fargo charged high fees to students

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/10/student-loan-fees-wells-fargo-1021129

Trump administration hid report revealing Wells Fargo charged high fees to students
By MICHAEL STRATFORD 12/10/2018 06:39 PM EST
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The Trump administration for months concealed a report that showed Wells Fargo charged college students fees that were on average several times higher than some of its competitors.

The “unpublished” report was obtained by POLITICO through a Freedom of Information Act request. It was produced by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau office previously led by Seth Frotman, who quit as the bureau’s top student loan official in protest of Trump administration policies. Frotman said in his resignation letter that CFPB leaders had “suppressed the publication” of the report.


The previously unseen analysis examined the fees associated with debit cards and other financial products provided by 14 companies through agreements with more than 500 colleges across the country.

Wells Fargo provided roughly one-quarter of those accounts but the bank collected more than half of all fees paid by students, according to the report data. The bank’s average annual fee per account was nearly $50, the highest of any provider.

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A spokesperson for the CFPB did not comment on why the bureau did not make the report public. “The Bureau shared this information directly with the Department of Education," the spokesperson, who declined to be named, said in a statement.

The Education Department did not comment on whether it took any action based on the report, which it did not make public, either.

Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), who is poised to become chairman of the House education committee, said earlier this year that the allegation that the CFPB had concealed the report on fees charged to students warranted an “immediate investigation” and called for congressional hearings.