Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse says that most people are obsessing over recent debacles in the crypto industry while ignoring what’s going on in the traditional finance world.
Garlinghouse that there is a wildly disproportionate amount of attention directed at the collapse of crypto exchange FTX compared to banking giant Wells Fargo, which just paid $3.7 billion in fines for mismanaging customer funds.
“The world is (appropriately) outraged by SBF and FTX’s fraud, but when Wells Fargo mismanages billions in customer funds as well, it’s barely a blip on the radar. Food for thought…”
Wells Fargo was charged by the Consumer Finance Protection Board (CFPB) with mismanaging funds relating to auto loans, mortgages and deposit accounts.
CFPB Director Rohit Chopra.
“Wells Fargo’s rinse-repeat cycle of violating the law has harmed millions of American families. The CFPB is ordering Wells Fargo to refund billions of dollars to consumers across the country. This is an important initial step for accountability and long-term reform of this repeat offender.”
On top of the big 10-figure fine, the CFPB also ordered Wells Fargo to “stop charging surprise overdraft fees” and make changes to certain aspects of its policies on auto loans.
Garlinghouse has spoken out in the past about what he says is unreasonable scrutiny of the crypto industry. Earlier this week, he criticized U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler for his lack of foresight on the collapse of FTX and its former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried.
The Ripple CEO it was “shameful” that Gensler, who often lectures crypto firms on regulatory compliance, failed to see the FTX disaster coming despite having multiple personal meetings with Bankman-Fried.
“It’s ridiculous and frankly shameful that Chair Gensler was touting the SEC’s enforcement actions as the ‘cop on the beat,’ yet (per public reports) MET with [Sam Bankman-Fried] multiple times, but was caught completely flat-footed when the alleged fraud finally came to light.”
