This article examines potential consumer harm that may arise due to regulating modern financial services communication technology with rules written in the early 20th century. It is argued that disparities in record keeping regulation across communication mediums disincentivizes the use of technology capable of generating records for consumer…

This article develops and tests an identity-based account of malfeasance in consumer markets. It is hypothesized that multi-brand organizational structures help predatory firms short-circuit reputational discipline by rendering their underlying identities opaque to consumer audiences. The analysis utilizes comprehensive administrative data on all…

Wells Fargo & Co.'s Community Banking unit had enjoyed a strong, positive reputation for decades. Wells Fargo, as a whole, had avoided most of the problems of the 2008 financial crisis, only to stumble into its own crisis in late 2016. The Community Banking unit was accused of opening millions of unauthorized accounts, firing employees for…