Wells Fargo cutting sales goal in wake of hefty fine

Wells Fargo will cut product sales goals for retail bankers, nearly a week after the bank was fined $185 million for allegedly illegally opening unauthorized accounts for its customers.

The fines came from a combination of California and federal regulators who alleged that the practice was being used to meet aggressive sales goals. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fined the bank $100 million of the total, marking the largest fine levied against a financial institution by the agency since its creation five years ago. California authorities accounted for the rest.

Wells Fargo will eliminate the sales goals by Jan. 1, according to a statement.

Its shares dropped more than 2 percent in morning trading Tuesday.