Wells Fargo Profiled Customers, Fired Banker Alleges

What You Need to Know

The banker said managers started closely scrutinizing his work, even his fonts, after he reported ethics issues.
Wells Fargo’s retaliation has kept the banker from finding new work in the industry, the suit alleges.
Thomas Davis served affluent customers, managing $192M in assets, the suit says.

A fired Wells Fargo personal banker has sued the financial giant, alleging that the company retaliated against him after he reported that managers improperly encouraged bankers to profile prospective customers based on race and physical appearance, including apparel brand.

Thomas Davis, in a lawsuit filed Sunday in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, accuses Wells Fargo of retaliation for good-faith reporting of racial profiling and ethics violations and several other alleged violations, including disability discrimination and breach of implied contracts.

As a personal banker hired by Wells Fargo in 2016, Davis managed a book of business worth more than $192 million in direct assets, according to the lawsuit, which says he was promoted in 2019 to senior branch premier banker, responsible for providing services to affluent customers. 

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s BrokerCheck database lists Davis as a former RIA and broker.

In 2022, Davis, who had received four promotions over six years, “reported how his managers were requiring junior team members to identify and weed out potential customers by using racial and socioeconomic markers,” according to the complaint, which seeks a jury trial. He also reported a pay disparity between his position and junior positions he was coaching, the lawsuit states.

“After making his reports, Mr. Davis was disproportionately scrutinized by superiors on elements of his work and in April 2023, he was investigated for alleged unethical behavior,” then was “pulled into numerous meetings” regarding his scheduled Family and Medical Leave Act/short-term disability leave.

Wells Fargo “recalled Mr. Davis early from previously approved leave to summarily terminate his employment,” the suit alleges. Davis was fired on July 13, 2023, according to the lawsuit and his FINRA record.

Davis alleges claims for relief for unlawful retaliation and discrimination in violation of the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, unlawful retaliation under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, and unlawful interference and retaliation under the Family and Medical Leave Act, as well as civil rights violations under Colorado law.

He alleges that Wells Fargo incorrectly reported the reasons for his firing to FINRA on his U5 termination form, and that those details “continue to impair Mr. Davis’s ability to be re-employed in the only industry he knows. Specifically, Vectra Bank and FNBO have both rejected his candidature because of his Form U5, events (that Davis) experiences as post-employment retaliation,” the complaint says.

Davis’ FINRA record states: “Banker terminated by Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. after admitting improper manipulation of incentive system by submission of an invalid partner referral. No customer harm identified.”

In September 2022, Davis filed a complaint through a Wells Fargo ethics line that managers had implemented “pre-appointment assessments” for prospective customers based on race and physical appearance to determine which products would best suit them — a violation of company policy — he alleges in the lawsuit.

“Mr. Davis was told to implement the assessments and he witnessed junior bankers implementing the assessments,” the lawsuit contends.