Reputation rankings show Wells Fargo's massive rehabilitation campaign may have worked
14 May 2021
Data: Harris Poll; Chart: Danielle Alberti/Axios
Wells Fargo is no longer viewed as the least ethical big company in America. That's the big lesson from the most recent Axios Harris reputation poll.
Why it matters: After hitting extreme Axios Harris lows in 2017, Wells Fargo embarked upon a massive public rehabilitation campaign in 2018. It seems to have worked.
Flashback: The bad news started with the revelation in 2016 that the bank had created millions of fake accounts and opened them without the account holders' permission or even knowledge. It didn't end there — a series of scandals followed, tarnishing Wells Fargo's reputation — and that of its former CEO.
By the numbers: Wells Fargo's "ethics" score of 38.9 in 2017 was by far the lowest in the history of the poll. (Wells Fargo and the Trump Organization are the only companies to ever score under 50.) This year, it has recovered to 62 — a big jump, even if it's still in the bottom five.
- Overall, Wells Fargo's reputation score of 63 in 2021 puts it well ahead of Facebook, tied with TikTok, and slightly behind Comcast.
- Other banks have also been improving. The reputation score for Bank of America, for instance, increased from 59.7 to 70.5 between 2017 and 2021.
The bottom line: Banks are generally unloved, with the notable exception of USAA, which has outperformed in every year of the survey. And Wells Fargo remains at the bottom of the banking pack. That said, the sector as a whole is improving.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.