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In court filings in advance of trial against the three former Wells Fargo executives who are contesting its sales practices-related enforcement actions, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said it would be seeking significantly increased monetary penalties against each of the three. (Five other former executives previously resolved the OCC’s charges.) The OCC argued that the three former executives going to trial failed to perform their duties and that their conduct justified the increases (in one case, by more than 300%) in the sanctions the agency had originally sought.

While this move is somewhat unusual in its timing, it is a reminder that the discovery process in an enforcement proceeding brings with it the risk that the government’s position can harden further once the investigative phase of an enforcement proceeding has concluded and the litigation phase begins. Of course, the enforcement actions against Wells Fargo’s former executives represent one of the most comprehensive efforts ever undertaken by the OCC to hold individuals accountable for a bank’s allegedly unsafe and unsound practices, and the agency’s decision to seek increased penalties may serve as an indicator as to how the regulator will approach these matters moving forward.