Wells Fargo CEO to retire immediately after accounts scandal
John Stumpf, the embattled chairman and CEO of Wells Fargo, will retire immediately.
{mosads}In a statement released Wednesday, the bank said that Stumpf would be stepping down from his dual posts at the top of the bank, which has struggled for weeks with a far-reaching scandal over the creation of fake accounts for unwitting customers.
Tim Sloan, the bank’s chief operating officer, will take over as the bank’s top executive immediately.
In a statement, Stumpf did not reference the scandal, but simply said that “it is best for the company that I step aside.”
“I am grateful for the opportunity to have led Wells Fargo,” said Stumpf, who had been with the bank for 34 years.
Stumpf gave his blessing to Sloan, a 29-year veteran of the bank.
“My immediate and highest priority is to restore trust in Wells Fargo,” said Sloan.
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, called Stumpf’s decision to retire “more than appropriate” in the wake of the account scandal.
And she maintained her stance that Wells is too big to manage and should be broken up.
Waters also expressed concern that the new CEO is “culpable in the recent scandal, serving in a central role in the chain of command that ought to have stopped this misconduct from happening.”
“Indeed, as recently as June of this year, Mr. Sloan was telling the news media that Wells Fargo’s aggressive cross-selling strategies were fundamentally sound and didn’t need to change,” Waters said in a statement.
In September, the bank struck a settlement with government regulators, paying $185 million to settle charges it potentially created millions of unwanted accounts to meet sales goals.
The bank has fired over 5,000 employees for the improper activity, which spanned years. But Stumpf was roundly criticized by members of both parties during appearances before Congress last month, where it was made clear that lawmakers believed top executives had to be held responsible for the activity.
Vicki Needham contributed.
– Updated at 5:28 p.m. and 6:45 p.m.