Ohio extends ban on Wells Fargo business by six months (WFC)

WASHINGTON, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Ohio will extend its ban on doing business with Wells Fargo & Co because the bank has not done enough to help consumers and clean up its culture, the state's governor said on Thursday.

"This bank has not yet regained the public's confidence," Governor John Kasich said in a statement. "Wells Fargo still has work to do."

Ohio cut ties with Wells Fargo last October, in the wake of a sales scandal that began after the bank was found to have created as many as 2.1 million fake accounts to boost sales targets. The number was later revised to 3.5 million, and problems with other products, including auto insurance, life insurance and mortgages have surfaced over the past year.

At the time, Kasich said Ohio would not turn to the bank for help on debt offerings or financial services for one year. On Thursday, he extended that ban through April.

"I'm willing to revisit this situation in six months," Kasich said in a statement.

Other cities and states have enacted similar bans, including New York City, Chicago, Massachusetts, Illinois and California. It could not be immediately determined if all of those bans are still in place. (Reporting by Steve Holland and Patrick Rucker in Washington; Additional reporting by Dan Freed in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler)

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