By Micah Maidenberg

Wells Fargo & Co. said it is opening an internal advisory group focused on consumers, a move that comes after the bank's reputation with customers was tarnished in recent years by a fake-account scandal that resulted in major fines.

Wells Fargo on Tuesday said it was launching what it calls its Office of Consumer Practices to make recommendations about consumer-related products and business practices, review data about complaints and provide advice about bank policies, among other efforts.

In February of last year, the bank agreed to pay $3 billion to settle investigations by federal officials who were investigating how the bank created fake accounts. As part of that settlement, Wells Fargo admitted that it "unlawfully misused" personal information from customers and harmed some customers' credit ratings while collecting millions in fees and interest.

Regulators examined other parts of the bank's operations in recent years, including its wealth management and foreign-exchange units.

The new office "will play an important role in ensuring our products, services, and business practices are fair and transparent," Chief Executive Charlie Scharf said in a statement.

The office will be led by Michael Lipsitz, chief regulatory and policy affairs executive at Wells Fargo.

Write to Micah Maidenberg at micah.maidenberg@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-12-21 1205ET