WASHINGTON—When Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf testifies today before the House Financial Services Committee, he will again apologize for the actions of employees that led to the sham accounts and harm to account holders—but will again deny that the bank’s management was involved.
Stumpf was grilled during a Senate hearing last week, where he made the same apology.
Bloomberg News, which obtained a copy of Stump’s prepared remarks for the HFSC, reported that Stumpf will testify that he failed to fulfill his responsibility to Wells Fargo customers and will lay out a timeline of the bank’s attempts to deter misconduct. Bloomberg reported that Stumpf plans to tell lawmakers that he is "deeply sorry" and that the abuses – which imposed fees on clients, and may have hurt credit scores for some – wasn’t an “orchestrated effort.”
“I have been with Wells Fargo through many challenges, none that pains me more than the one we will discuss. I want to apologize to all Wells Fargo customers,” Stumpf stated in his latest prepared remarks. “I want to apologize for violating the trust our customers have invested in Wells Fargo. And I want to apologize for not doing more sooner to address the causes of this unacceptable activity."
The only change in Stumpf’s prepared remarks for the House, compared with his Senate remarks, is an update on timing for the elimination of sales goals, Bloomberg said. Wells Fargo has decided to end product sales goals for retail bank employees by Oct. 1 after previously saying it would make that change Jan. 1.
As CUToday.info reported, shortly after the Senate hearing Stumpf announced that he will forfeit much of his 2016 salary, as well as $41 million in stock awards. Stumpf had been told during his Senate testimony by several senators that he and other executives should be giving up their compensation.
Wells Fargo, which announced it has launched an internal probe of the scandal that led to the firing of more than 5,000 employees, has also announced that Carrie Tolstedt, that executive who oversaw operations that included the phony accounts, has left the bank ahead of her planned retirement. She will also not receive a bonus or severance, the bank reported. Wells Fargo will reportedly also seek to “claw back” $19 million in compensation paid to Tolstedt. Tolstedt had been due approximately $124 million at retirement.
The company's board of directors said that while it’s investigating its own sales practices, Stumpf will work for free.
If Stumpf resigns, or is asked to step down by the bank’s board, reports indicate that Wells Fargo President and COO Timothy Sloan could be in line to take over.