The fraud was known since 2013, but it was recognized by Wells Fargo in 2015.
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Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told Stumpf during his appearance before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee in Washington.
According to ClearPoint, a non-profit credit counseling agency, you should first contact Wells Fargo and check your accounts.
Throughout the hearing, Stumpf was polite, responding to senators’ often aggressive questions with a calm, earthy twang. Those who had fake accounts opened under their name could be marred because of fraudulent credit card accounts.
A bank official acknowledged that it had terminated some 5,300 employees, roughly 1 percent of the workforce, in relation to the allegations, and the bank issued a statement saying, “We regret and take responsibility for any instances where customers may have received a product that they did not request”. Lenders downgraded their creditworthiness based on the fake accounts, and Wells Fargo CEO dodged the questions regarding the consequences they might face because of his incompetence.
But even if the scandal is more palpable on Main Street, analysts and investors who spoke to Reuters after Stumpf’s testimony said it may ultimately matter little to Wells Fargo’s bottom line or share price. Sherrod Brown (Ohio), the ranking Democrat on the committee.
Some governance experts also said the board should examine the “tone at the top” set by Mr. Stumpf. Read our story from the time, or see how the scandal affects customers.
Peppered with criticism for almost three hours at a hearing Tuesday, the CEO of the nation’s second-largest bank faced calls for his resignation from harshly critical senators.
Lawmakers ripped into Wells Fargo & Co. head John Stumpf on Tuesday over the banking giant’s sales-practices scandal, with one senator calling on Stumpf to quit as chairman and chief executive.
During yesterday’s hearing, however, he said he was misunderstood during that interview. But his words do not match his actions. Sen.
Wells Fargo has in place executive compensation clawback provisions that the board could implement. “Have you returned one nickel of the millions of the dollars that you earned while this scam was going on?”
The Massachusetts Democrat, one of the fiercest critics of Wall Street, challenged John Stumpf about what he has done regarding his repeated claim of being accountable.
“And when it all blew up, you kept your job, you kept your multimillion-dollar bonus and you went on television to blame thousands of $12-an-hour employees who were just trying to meet cross-sell quotas that made you rich”, she said.
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D., Ore.) described their working environment as a pressure cooker, and told Mr. Stumpf that if he truly accepted responsibility, he would resign rather than blame employees he put “in an impossible situation” by setting unrealistic performance goals.
In his responses, Stumpf was either frequently interrupted or forced into answers that had him repeating his talking points again and again.
“You’re not wiling to say publicly … that some of her compensation … should be clawed back?” asked Sen.
The disgraced CEO offered a personal apology for his part in the sham accounts debacle. Instead, low-level employees have been blamed, who do not have the money to hire “a fancy PR firm to defend themselves”.
“This is about accountability”, said Warren, who accused Stumpf of “gutless leadership” and told him he should resign.
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Some particularly aggressive questioning came from Democrat Elizabeth Warren of MA, who said in so many words that Stumpf should resign, should give back some of his compensation, and should be criminally investigated by both the Justice Department and by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
