President Donald J. Trump wrote that "fines and penalties against Wells Fargo Bank . . . will not be dropped, as has incorrectly been reported, but will be pursued and, if anything, substantially increased" in connection with alleged improper mortgage lending practices. Wells Fargo has been accused of wrongly charging borrowers a fee in order to secure low mortgage rates.

President Trump's tweet was published in the wake of a Reuters report indicating that CFPB Acting Director Mick Mulvaney was reconsidering a settlement initiated under former Director Richard Cordray that would require Wells Fargo to "pay tens of millions of dollars" for its alleged lending abuses. President Trump added that while his goal is to cut regulations, penalties will be "severe" when banks are "caught cheating."

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