Wells Fargo Fires Four Executives Following Probe of Sales-Practices Scandal
February 21 2017 - 2:47PM
Dow Jones News
By Emily Glazer
Wells Fargo & Co. said Tuesday that four executives were
fired for cause related to its sales-practices scandal based on its
board's independent investigation.
The terminated executives are a few levels below the bank's top
brass: former Wells Fargo Retail Banking Chief Risk Officer Claudia
Russ Anderson; Arizona Retail Banking executive Pamela Conboy;
Consumer Credit executive Shelley Freeman, who was also a former
Los Angeles retail banking executive; and Retail Banking Strategy
and Finance executive Matthew Raphaelson. The executives won't get
a 2016 bonus and will forfeit unvested equity and vested
outstanding options, according to a statement from the bank.
Wells Fargo's board is continuing its independent investigation
of the scandal, which erupted last September when the bank entered
into a $185 million settlement and enforcement action with
regulators over sales practices that included staff opening
accounts without customers' knowledge. This tarnished the bank's
reputation and subjected it to a bevy of state and federal
investigations, including by the Justice Department.
The board's investigation is expected to be completed before the
bank's annual shareholder meeting in April, according to the bank's
press release. "Any additional actions will be made public by that
time," Wells Fargo said.
The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that the bank's board
is also likely to eliminate 2016 bonuses for some top executives,
such as Chief Executive Timothy Sloan and Chief Financial Officer
John Shrewsberry.
The cut to compensation isn't meant to reflect culpability on
the part of the executives in connection with the sales-practices
scandal, the people said. Rather it is meant to show accountability
for the bank's overall performance.
Write to Emily Glazer at emily.glazer@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 21, 2017 14:32 ET (19:32 GMT)
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