Senator Elizabeth Warren said it is time for the Wells Fargo & Co. CEO to get fired.
The Wells Fargo account fraud scandal is an ongoing controversy surrounding the creation of millions of fraudulent accounts on behalf of Wells Fargo clients without their consent. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fined the company a combined $185 million dollars as a result of the illegal activity. In addition, the company faces several civil and criminal lawsuits.
Wells Fargo customers noticed the fraud after being charged for fees and receiving unexpected credit or debit cards. Initially, Wells Fargo branch managers were blamed for the fraudulent accounts, as well as sales incentives associated with selling financial products. The blame later shifted to higher-level executives who reportedly pushed as many financial products as possible. The result led the resignation of CEO John Stumpf, and an investigation led by U.S. Elizabeth Warren.
CEO Timothy Sloan told lawmakers during a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Tuesday that the recent scandal surrounding millions of potentially wronged customers has ended. That said, Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat representative, argued that the senior executive is either dumb or involved with the scandal.
“Either way, you should be fired,” Warren told him. “You enabled this fake account scam, you got rich off it, and you tried to cover it up.”
Warren, who argued for the termination for his predecessor, John Stumpf, pointed out statements Sloan made to investors that defended the bank’s methods after he and other company executives were made aware of problems with their company’s sales practices. Sloan argued that those words were “taken out of context.” Sloan continued by arguing that he has not been “perfect” but, he continues to be the right person for the job.
Warren also asked how he could tell employees that they are the priority while also telling investors that the bank will cut billions in costs that would involve laying employees off. “I couldn’t disagree more with almost everything Senator Warren said.”
He went on to claim she was scaring people by claiming his remarks would mean thousands of people would lose their jobs.
“We care about our team members,” he said. “But at the same time, I have an obligation as the CEO of this company that we keep other stakeholders happy.”
Wells Fargo customers noticed the fraud after being charged for fees and receiving unexpected credit or debit cards. Initially, Wells Fargo branch managers were blamed for the fraudulent accounts, as well as sales incentives associated withs selling financial products. The blame later shifted to higher-level executives who reportedly pushed as many financial products as possible. The result led the resignation of CEO John Stumpf, and an investigation led by U.S. Elizabeth Warren.