NEW YORK–Tim Sloan, CEO of Wells Fargo, said he is stepping down effective immediately as part of an effort to help the scandal-plagued bank to move forward.
Sloan has been with the bank for three decades and was named CEO in 2016 following news the bank had opened more than three-million bogus accounts as its employees attempted to meet aggressive sales cross-sales targets. But multiple other scandals would also follow, and Wells Fargo has been fined approximately $1 billion and continues to operate under a rare asset size cap imposed by the Federal Reserve.
"I have decided it is best for the company that I step aside," Sloan said in a statement. "It has become apparent to me" that Wells Fargo will "benefit from a new CEO and fresh perspective.”
Wells Fargo said that Sloan will be replaced on an interim basis by C. Allen Parker, the bank's general counsel. Wells Fargo said it will find look outside the company for Sloan’s replacement.
"Although we have many talented executives within the company, the board has concluded that seeking someone from the outside is the most effective way to complete the transformation at Wells Fargo,” Wells Fargo Chairwoman Elizabeth Duke said in a statement.
Sloan said he will exit at the end of June. He succeeded former CEO John Stumpf, who was leading the bank as several of the scandals emerged. Sloan was paid approximately $17.4 million in compensation for 2017, the last year for which data are available.