Tim Sloan Retires as CEO of Wells Fargo

Tim Sloan, chief executive of US banking giant Wells Fargo, will retire on June 30. The bank's board of directors has appointed its general counsel, C. Allen Parker, as interim replacement.

Two years after the bank was dragged into a huge scandal about opening fake accounts, political and regulatory pressure grew. After a hearty hearing before the House's Financial Services Committee this month, members of Parliament interrupted him several times and told him that he "did not understand it", and said # 39; one of the main regulators of the bank, the Office of the controller of the currency, issued a very unusual notice. public statement reprimanding the bank for its lack of progress.

"We continue to be disappointed by the performance of Wells Fargo Bank NA in connection with our consent orders and by its inability to implement effective corporate governance," says the statement from the OCC.

Despite periodic rumors that Sloan was going to be replaced, the bank's board of directors had repeatedly insisted that he be fully supported. Just last week, a spokesman for the bank said: "Rumors that Wells Fargo would be negotiating with potential candidates regarding the CEO position have no validity."

In a television interview today, Warren Buffett, the bank's largest shareholder, said Sloan was fully supported.

The bank was operating under joint consent orders from the OCC, the Federal Reserve and the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, urging the bank to improve its governance, control and compliance functions . The Fed imposed a $ 2 billion cap on Wells' balance sheet, and the bank has repeatedly pushed back its goal of removing the cap.

The Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Elizabeth Warren, said the cap should remain in place until Mr. Sloan's removal.

Sloan, a 31-year-old veteran of the 31-year-old bank, was seen as a major badet to take over in 2016 when long-time CEO John Stumpf was forced to leave his post as a result of the biggest scandal of abusive sale of the history of the American retail trade. banking. Despite his frequent claims that he cleaned up the bank, Wells would strive to give up his troubled legacy under Sloan and a series of new scandals continued to occur.

Wells shares have increased by only 8% since Mr. Sloan's appointment in 2016. During the same period, the shares of the rival Bank of America and Citigroup rose by 70% and 30% respectively. US banks having profited from a booming economy and expectations of lighter regulation.

Wells shares rose nearly 3% after the announcement.