Wells Fargo’s CEO Just Got Punished Thanks To Elizabeth Warren
For once, there may be some punishment in the pipeline for greedy bank CEOs who exploit and extort the American people out of their hard-earned money. Financial giant Wells Fargo (currently the most valuable financial company in the world) has been rocked with scandal when their employees were caught opening fake accounts for their clients, which they then used to charge extra fees and increase their commissions. More than two millions fake accounts were created.
Thanks to Elizabeth Warren and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, there are going to be actual consequences for this, minor though they may be. Wells Fargo CEO and chairman John Stumpf will forfeit $41 million in unvested stock, give up his $2.8 million annual salary (for a time) and get no bonus this year. He still gets to keep his job and the $247 million in Wells Fargo stock he already owns.
Banking executive Carrie Tolstedt has also been terminated effective immediately. She will receive no severance pay or bonus and give up $19 million in stock.
It is extremely rare for a CEO to ever take a financial hit for the criminal behavior of his company. Senator Warren applauded the company’s decision to punish Stumpf but pointed out that it didn’t go far enough. The 5,300 workers who were pressured into opening the fake accounts and then lost their jobs over the scandal certainly didn’t have any $247 million safety net to fall into.
This is a small step in the right direction, but nowhere near real accountability. https://t.co/7Aj4fxXp9x
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) September 28, 2016
.@WellsFargo employees who failed to meet management’s outrageous sales goals were fired.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) September 28, 2016
.@WellsFargo employees who tried to sound the alarm about the creation of fake accounts were fired. Their lives turned upside down.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) September 28, 2016
.@WellsFargo CEO Stumpf will be just fine: he keeps his job & most of the money he made while massive fraud went on under his nose.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) September 28, 2016
As I said last week: Mr. Stumpf should resign, return every nickel he made while this scam was ongoing, & face SEC & DOJ investigations.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) September 28, 2016
While we thank Senator Warren for being such a stalwart defender of the American consumer, this kind of behavior from Wells Fargo is outrageous – and is further proof that the predatory hypercapitalists haven’t learned anything from the Great Recession. They only see the American people as a tool for them to use and abuse, to turn upside and shake until the money falls out – and then toss us aside when we’re no longer needed.
Opinion columnist and former editor-in-chief of Occupy Democrats. He graduated from Bennington College with a Bachelor's degree in history and political science. He now focuses on advancing the cause of social justice and equality in America.