Wells Fargo’s credit card and checking businesses are in free fall

Banking customers are still steering clear of the Wells Fargo wagon.

The scandal-ridden San Francisco bank admitted Thursday that it saw drastic declines in new applications for credit cards and checking accounts, two key products that were at the center of Wells’ cross-selling controversy.

Credit card applications plunged by 42 percent, to 200,000, during the first three months of the year, the bank said in its earnings release. New checking account applications fell by 35 percent, to 400,000.

Last week, proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services recommended the bank give the boot to 80 percent of its board for failing to detect the fake-accounts scandal, which last year led to a $185 million settlement with government agencies and the ouster of the bank’s last CEO, John Stumpf.

Earlier this week, the bank put out its own report blaming Stumpf and the former head of retail banking, Carrie Tolstedt. The board clawed back $75 million in compensation from the disgraced duo.

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