Wells Fargo Bank CEO Resigns Amid Sales Scandal

VOA News

The chief executive officer of the second largest U.S. bank will step down in the aftermath of a scandal over its sales practices.

San Francisco-based Wells Fargo Bank announced Wednesday that John Stumpf has resigned effective immediately and will be replaced by chief operating officer, Tim Sloan. Stumpf will also relinquish his title as chairman.

Wells Fargo was well-known in the banking industry for its ability to sell customers multiple products, such as a new account, a mortgage, a retirement account, or even online banking.

The company last month agreed to pay $185 million to settle allegations that its workers opened millions of accounts without customers’ permission to reach aggressive sales targets.

It has since faced a raft of federal and state investigations, including from the U.S. Department of Justice. Some 5,300 lower-level employees were fired because of the scandal.

The bank’s independent chairman Stephen Sanger will take over as board chairman and Elizabeth Duke, a current board director, will become vice chairman of the board.