Wells Fargo CEO Timothy Sloan leaves the bench after numerous scandals: NPR

Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan will step down immediately, the company said Thursday.

"It has become clear to me that our ability to advance Wells Fargo from now on will benefit from a new CEO and new prospects," Sloan said as part of the announcement.

He is the second CEO of Wells Fargo to resign in about two and a half years, the big bank having been shaken by scandals. The most prominent bankers have created deposit and credit card accounts for millions of customers without their knowledge.

Wells Fargo has been fined and fined $ 185 million in 2016 for creating unwanted accounts by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Earlier this month, Sloan testified before Congress, telling the House Financial Services Committee that "Wells Fargo is a better bank than it was three years ago and we are working every day to become even better".

But the legislators of both political parties were skeptical.

And a few days later, the company disclosed in a document filed with a government regulator that Sloan would receive a $ 2 million bonus for 2018.

This prompted California Democrat Maxine Waters, who heads the House's Financial Services Committee, to demand that he "show the door".

The problems are getting worse for Wells Fargo over the years.

In another case, the Consumer Bureau also fined Wells Fargo $ 1 billion for overcharging customers for mortgages and auto loans. The fine was part of a broader settlement of bank fees and sold mortgages containing false information in the years leading up to the financial crisis.

Sloan took office as CEO when John Stumpf resigned in October 2016, as a result of indignation provoked by the accounts scandal.

Sloan said during the hearing that no less than 3.5 million unauthorized accounts had been opened, according to an audit.