Wells Fargo

RANK103

Wells Fargo continues to experience fallout from its 2016 fake accounts scandal, even five years on. An asset cap imposed in 2018 in response to the bank’s misdeeds prevented the company from taking some deposits during the pandemic. Net income for 2020 slipped to $3.3 billion, compared with $19.5 billion in the year prior. And with a smaller trading and investment banking arm compared with its megabank peers, Wells Fargo also missed out on much of the surge in equities during the year. Still, the bank is seeing a flicker of light: The Fed accepted a proposal to overhaul the bank’s risk management in early 2021, signaling a first step toward lifting the bank’s asset cap. But that comes after Wells Fargo’s continued struggles have worn on investor patience: Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, once one of the company’s largest shareholders, culled its holdings by 83% in 2020.