Former Wells Fargo chief executive John Stumpf is to pay $17.5m (£13.3m) to settle charges over the bank’s fake accounts scandal. He was also banned from working in the financial industry “in any manner” for life. It’s a rare example of a top banking executive being personally punished for failing to stop misconduct. The charges came after it was revealed that millions of fake bank accounts had been set up to meet sales targets.

In August 2017, the lender said up to 3.5 million accounts may have been created for customers without their permission. The accounts were created over a period of eight years. Mr Stumpf’s lifetime ban is more severe than anything faced by financial industry executives in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. The Office of Comptroller of the Currency - the administrator of the federal banking system - also said it had settled with two other former executives, and announced charges against five other former officials.