Wells Fargo claws back millions of dollars in executives' pay

John Stumpf, chief executive officer of Wells Fargo& Co.

Wells Fargo says CEO John Stumpf and the executive who ran the bank's retail banking division will forfeit tens of millions of dollars in pay as the bank tries to stem a scandal over its sales practices.

The independent directors at the nation's second-largest bank said Tuesday that Stumpf will forfeit $41 million in stock awards, while former retail banking executive Carrie Tolstedt will forfeit $19 million of her stock awards, effective immediately. Both are also giving up any bonuses for 2016, and Tolstedt will not receive any severance or any other compensation in connection with her retirement, the bank's directors said.

The announcement comes ahead of Stump's planned appearance before the House Financial Services Committee on Thursday, where he is expected to face a bipartisan grilling similar to what he experienced last week from the Senate Banking Committee.

The San Francisco-based bank's independent directors are also launching their own investigation, hiring the law firm Shearman & Sterling to assist them.

In their announcement, the independent directors said the moves did not preclude the board from pursuing more salary clawbacks from Stumpf or Tolstedt, depending on the results of the investigation. Stumpf, as a member of Wells Fargo's board of directors and chairman of the board, has recused himself from any decisions that may come from that investigation, the board said.

"We will proceed with a sense of urgency but will take the time we need to conduct a thorough investigation," Stephen Sanger, Wells Fargo's lead independent director, said in a statement.

Wells Fargo had been under pressure from lawmakers and others to implement its executive compensation clawback provisions after the bank agreed to pay $185 million to settle allegations its employees opened millions of accounts without customers' permission to reach aggressive sales targets.

Stumpf has faced bipartisan outrage for his handling of the scandal. Republican Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee said at a Banking Committee hearing, where Stumpf testified last week, that it would be "malpractice" if Wells Fargo didn't institute any compensation clawbacks. Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts told Stumpf he should resign and "give back the money you took while the scam was going on."

Stumpf, a 34-year veteran of Wells Fargo and CEO since 2007, earned $19.3 million last year. Tolstedt announced her retirement in July and had been expected to leave with as much as $125 million in salary, stock options and other compensation before the board's announcement.

The consumer banking giant, which is also the nation's biggest mortgage lender, has fired about 5,300 employees over the sales practices. Lawmakers told Stumpf at the hearing those dismissals didn't go high enough up the chain.

Stumpf was long admired for keeping Wells－until recently－free of scandal. The bank did not invest in as many toxic mortgages in the 2000s as its counterparts, and Stumpf initially declined to take bailout money from Washington before accepting it in a sign of solidarity.

He also was able to expand Wells significantly as a result of the crisis, buying up Wachovia. That gave the bank known for its stagecoach logo, which was primarily a West Coast and Southern bank, access to the lucrative East Coast and New York banking markets.

Stumpf was also well-known in the banking industry for his company's ability to sell products to customers. While quotas varied by branch size and other factors, a typical employee had to sell between 13 and 15 banking products a day－a new account, a mortgage, a retirement account, or even online banking. The targets were high even in small towns.

Federal and local authorities said Wells Fargo & Co. employees trying to meet those targets opened bank and credit card accounts, moved money between those accounts and even created fake email addresses to sign customers up for online banking－all without customer authorization. Debit cards were issued and activated, as well as PINs created, without customers' knowledge.

The Labor Department is investigating whether Wells Fargo abused its employees while driving them to meet the lofty sales targets.

Associated Press