Wells Fargo CEO steps down in wake of sham accounts scandal
Wells Fargo announced Wednesday that its longtime chief executive and chairman, John G. Stumpf, is stepping down, the latest turn for the embattled megabank after it admitted that thousands of low-level employees had set up sham accounts to meet sales quotas.
Stumpf’s sudden downfall is likely to send shivers through Wall Street where a well-honed playbook for surviving public scandals appears to have been torn to pieces, upended by the type of populist anger that has fueled the rise of Republican Donald Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders (D) on this year’s presidential campaign trail.
The San Francisco-based bank has repeatedly apologized and said it had fired 5,300 employees for misconduct and put in place more stringent internal controls. But that has not been enough for regulators and lawmakers, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who called on him to resign. Stumpf went as far as pledging to give up $41 million in compensation to account for the scandal, but his overture did little to quiet critics.
“While I have been deeply committed and focused on managing the Company through this period, I have decided it is best for the Company that I step aside,” Stumpf said in a statement.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2016/10/12/wells-fargo-ceo-to-retire-in-wake-of-sham-accounts-scandal/
= new reply since forum marked as read
