Wells Fargo under fire after reportedly staging job interviews for 'diverse' candidates

Wells Fargo, the nation's largest mortgage lender, is under fire after staging job interviews for minority candidates, The New York Times reports. Former Wells Fargo executive Joe Bruno said he was fired after complaining about "fake interviews," which would be held with "diverse" candidates for positions that were already promised to someone else.

Bruno and six other current and former employees say they were told to set up interviews for "diverse" candidates, although management had no intentions of actually hiring the individuals. 

"The sham interviews were instead designed to make the bank appear as if it were striving to diversify its workforce so that it wouldn't land in hot water with government regulators," the New York Post writes.

A spokesperson for the bank said all employees were required to follow their hiring procedures, and "do not tolerate" the behavior described.

The new report could be another blow to Wells Fargo's reputation after the bank suffered a significant hit when it was fined in 2020 for creating fraudulent accounts.