A Group of Wachovia (Now Part of Wells Fargo) Customers

question 163

Multiple Choice

A group of Wachovia (now part of Wells Fargo) customers filed a class action lawsuit against Wachovia Bank because fraudulent telemarketers had taken money from their accounts and that the telemarketers did so with the knowledge of bank executives who were aware of the fraud but did nothing to stop it. Banks executives insisted that they knew nothing about the thefts. However, internal e-mails released during discovery in the case showed that executives were discussing the frauds and providing warnings. "YIKES!!!!" "DOUBLE YIKES!!!!" "There is more, but nothing more that I want to put into a note." Warning from a Wachovia bank executive to colleagues that the bank had received 4,500 complaints of fraud in two months from customers who had been fleeced of $400 million by marketing firms who paid the bank large fees for access and on returned checks. "We are making a ton of money from them." What test for resolving ethical dilemmas would have helped the executives at Wachovia reach a better decision as they debated the issue on their e-mails?

• A) "I was just following orders."
• B) "This doesn't really hurt anyone."
• C) The Front-Page-of-the-Newspaper Test
• D) "It's a gray area."

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Definitions:

DuPont Analysis

DuPont Analysis is a financial evaluation method breaking down return on equity into three components: operating efficiency, asset use efficiency, and financial leverage, to identify what drives a company's profitability.

Earnings Yield Ratio

A metric used to evaluate the profitability of a company, calculated as earnings per share divided by the stock price.

Profit Margin

A financial ratio that indicates the percentage of revenue that exceeds the cost of goods sold, showing the profitability of a company.

Asset Turnover

A financial ratio that measures the efficiency of a company's use of its assets in generating sales revenue—the higher the ratio, the more efficiently the company is utilizing its assets.