Wells Fargo Reaches Into CEO’s Pockets

Wells Fargo will be taking back $41 million in compensation from embattled chairman and CEO John G. Stumpf, who recently faced Congressional committees angry over the bank’s recent admission to illegal behavior. The bank has fired more than 5,000 workers who broke the rules by opening banking accounts and credit cards in customers’ names, and other tactics to meet aggressive sales targets. Now Wells Fargo has said it will claw back $41 million in compensation from Stumpf, and $19 million in stock from Carrie Tolstedt, who led the Wells Fargo community banking division. Both executives will forgo any bonus payments this year. During a Senate Banking Committee hearing, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told Stumpf: “You haven’t returned a single nickel of your personal earnings. … It’s gutless leadership.” The company has agreed to pay $185 million in penalties and fines to settle cases brought by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, among others.