Wells Fargo plans to keep interim CEO Allen Parker in the role

Wells Fargo's board members plan to permanently retain acting CEO Allen Parker, even after announcing plans to hire a third party, according to two sources close to the board's thinking. administration.

Parker took office in March when his former CEO, Tim Sloan, resigned abruptly, claiming that pressure from politicians and regulators had become a distraction in running the scandal-stricken bank.

Critics like US Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democratic presidential candidate, had argued that Sloan's 30-year tenure had made him unable to change an internal culture that fueled a series of customer abuse.

Sloan was the second CEO of Wells Fargo to leave his post after the 2016 revelations that employees had potentially opened up millions of fake customer accounts. The fourth-largest bank in the US has paid billions of dollars in fines and is currently under investigation by various federal agencies.

The board of directors set itself the goal of recruiting an outsider. President Betsy Duke said the position should attract the best talent from the banking sector. According to Reuters, in April, the bank hired recruiting firm Spencer Stuart and was looking for candidates.

But external research has been complicated by concerns Wells Fargo could not pay the sums needed to attract the talents of competing banks. The choice of counsel would also be subject to unusual control by US regulators.

Board members began to think about keeping Parker after it made a good impression on stakeholders, including regulators, investors and employees.

Sources close to the board's thinking said Parker has not been touched by the scandal since taking office in 2017, a year after the first appearance of violations by customers. One source said the two years spent at Parker's bank had given him enough understanding of the outstanding issues to resolve them quickly.

It could take months for the recruiting committee to make a final decision as to who is the best person to run the San Francisco-based bank. The controller of the currency, Joseph Otting, would then need to review and validate this choice in private.

A spokeswoman for Wells Fargo declined to comment. Representatives of the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Controller of Money, the main regulators of the bank, declined to comment.

Parker joined Wells Fargo as General Counsel for the firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore, where he was a partner responsible for managing the firm's operations.

Through his work within the defense company of prestigious clients such as former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, he has also developed in Washington relations that will be helpful in resolving regulatory issues from Wells Fargo.

At Wells Fargo, he focused on cleaning up existing problems and preventing them.

Parker spent his first two months as the CEO's interim meeting with regulators in Washington, employees in Charlotte, North Carolina, and investors in New York.

As Acting CEO, his priorities are to improve customer service, meet regulatory requirements and make operations more efficient.

At a conference with investors last week, Parker said the bank had entered a new phase of agreement with regulators and that, based on his talks, relations were more constructive than before.

"We are probably a little more attentive now to everything they say," he told investors. "And frankly, in some cases, they spoke with greater clarity."

Nevertheless, with Parker at the helm, the bank could face even greater pressure from lawmakers who want to see an outsider, industry badysts said. In turning to find a successor, some investors might also feel that the board has not been able to find an interesting candidate interested in the position.

Since Parker became CEO, Wells Fargo has created a new unit to review the bank's 14 regulatory consent orders. Its board of directors has been expanded to include an experienced administrator in the management of a bank.