The Federal Reserve said Tuesday it has ended its final consent order over Wells Fargo & Co., allowing the bank to grow beyond the $1.95 trillion asset cap that has restricted the bank since February 2018.

The asset cap was established in 2018 in response to the bank’s fraudulent checking account scandal that erupted in September 2016. For banks, loans are considered assets.

The asset cap has put Wells Fargo at a competitive disadvantage compared with its national bank peers JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of American Corp. and Citigroup.

Over the past seven years, JPMorgan Chase has emerged as the nation's largest bank at $4.36 trillion, while Bank of America is at $3.35 trillion and Citigroup at $2.57 trillion.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said in 2021 the asset cap would remain until the F

See Full Page