SAN FRANCISCO, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Wells Fargo & Company, the third largest U.S. bank by total assets, said Friday that it has agreed to pay 480 million U.S. dollars to settle a securities fraud lawsuit over a sales scandal that has plagued the company since 2016.

The San Francisco-based Wells Fargo said in a statement that it has "reached an agreement in principle to resolve the consolidated securities fraud class action in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California."

"We are pleased to reach this agreement in principle and believe that moving to put this case behind us is in the best interest of our team members, customers, investors and other stakeholders," said Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan.

The bank was accused of making certain misstatements and omissions in disclosures related to its sales practices and of opening millions of accounts illegally.

Wells Fargo denied the claims and allegations and said "it entered into an agreement to avoid the cost and disruption of further litigation."

The U.S. Federal Reserve banned in February Wells Fargo from growing its business due to its widespread consumer abuses and other compliance breakdowns.