October 11, 2017

Warren Questions Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan about Fake Accounts Scandal

Following the Banking Committee's Hearing with Sloan, Warren Presses for more Information on Involvement with Fake Accounts Scam, Planned Employee Cuts, and Compensation

Full text of the letter and QFRs (PDF)

Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) today sent a letter and a series of "Questions for the Record" to Wells Fargo's Chief Executive Officer and President Tim Sloan, following up on their exchange during the hearing before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on the Wells Fargo fake accounts scandal.

During the hearing, Senator Warren questioned Mr. Sloan about his extensive involvement in the fake accounts scam, including his aggressive promotion to investors of Wells Fargo's ability to open up new accounts for existing customers, his personal financial gain from the scam, and his repeated attempts to cover up the scam in public statements.  

In response to Mr. Sloan's claim at the hearing that his statements promoting cross-selling were taken out of context, Senator Warren included in her questions for the record nearly 50 statements Mr. Sloan made across 13 investor calls, where he directly or indirectly promoted Wells Fargo's success at cross-selling.  The Senator also asked for more detailed disclosures about what Mr. Sloan knew when he made public comments denying the existence of any fake accounts problem.

Senator Warren also pressed Mr. Sloan on his plans to cut $4 billion in expenses over the next several years, and whether those cuts would result in the firing of thousands of frontline Wells Fargo employees. In her follow up questions, Senator Warren wrote, "If you are telling investors that you plan on cutting $4 billion in expenses by the end of 2019, you surely have at least a rough plan for how to achieve those cuts. If so, can you please tell me how many employees you are planning to fire by the end of 2019," and asked Mr. Sloan to "provide a breakdown of the type of employees that will be fired and their average annual income."

In her letter, Senator Warren also posed additional questions regarding Mr. Sloan's compensation during the scandals, Wells Fargo's use of arbitration agreements, and the reforms Wells Fargo has announced such as establishing the Rebuilding Trust Office and an Office of Ethics, Oversight and Integrity.

More information on Senator Warren's exchange with Mr. Sloan during the Senate Banking Committee hearing is available here. 

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