Wells Fargo Hits CEO With 'Aggressive' $41M Clawback

John Stumpf also forfeits bonus, part of salary, will work for free during investigation
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 28, 2016 2:25 AM CDT
Updated Sep 28, 2016 6:41 AM CDT
Wells Fargo Will Claw Back $41M From CEO
Stumpf is seen during an interview on the Fox Business Network.   (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

John Stumpf, the Wells Fargo CEO slammed for his "gutless leadership" by Sen. Elizabeth Warren last week, is going to have to tighten his belt a little this year: He will forfeit his bonus, part of his salary, and $41 million in stock awards over the fake-account scandal that saw the sacking of 5,300 employees, CNN reports. In addition, Stumpf will work for free while the company conducts an investigation. The bank's board of directors also says Carrie Tolstedt, who headed the retail division where workers created the phony accounts, will forfeit at least $19 million of the $125 million she was going to leave the company with at the end of the year, and will not receive severance or a bonus for 2016. The announcement comes as Wells Fargo is set to go before the House Financial Services Committee on Thursday.

The board says it is launching an independent investigation into how millions of accounts were created without the permission of customers, the BBC reports. Wells Fargo was fined $185 million over the scandal and the Washington Post describes the board's cash clawback as "by far the most aggressive and public effort" since the 2008 financial crisis to punish bank chiefs for misconduct—although Stumpf still has the estimated $161 million he received in bonuses over the five years the scam took place, and Tolstedt received $60 million over the same period. (Wells Fargo whistleblowers say they were fired for speaking out.)

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