Scandal Fallout? Wells Fargo Checking Account Opens Down 31% In January

Wells Fargo & Co WFC's fake account scandal was one of the biggest business news stories of 2016, but the media backlash appears to have blown over.

However, that doesn’t mean it hasn't affecting the brand.

According to the latest data from Reuters, consumer checking account opens in January were down 31 percent, a massive figure given the scope of the bank.

Wells Fargo By The Numbers For January

• Total brand interactions were down 12 percent.
• Average consumer and small business deposit balances were up 7 percent year-over-year.
• Customer initiated consumer checking account closures were up 1 percent and 4 percent year-over-year.

The company's largest shareholder, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. BRK BRK hasn’t sold a share of the company since the scandal broke. Warren Buffett’s business partner Charlie Munger weighed in on Wells Fargo Wednesday during the 2017 Daily Journal Meeting in Los Angeles.

“They didn’t react to the bad news fast enough. Of course, that’s a very dangerous thing to do. I don’t think it impacts the future of Wells Fargo. As a matter of fact, they’ll be better for it. The nice thing about doing something dumb is you probably won't do it again,” Munger said.

All shareholders can do at this point is hope.