Senator Warren grills Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf

Bobw235

Senior Member
Location
Massachusetts
This is awesome! Had to be a bit uncomfortable for Mr. Stumpf getting grilled like this. Next up? Federal charges perhaps? We can only hope.
 

Go get 'em, wow! She is well-spoken, her line of questioning so clear and direct! She wasn't about to listen to any baloney, the guy tried to hide behind the board of which he is chairman. He wasn't good at hiding his tracks, I wonder if he was trying to pump up the stocks so he could retire and cash in his options. These guys are so bold. So overtaken by greed.
 
Wells Fargo has some really crappy management. That being said what many if not most of the fired employees did was fraud. A criminal act. It might be minor but it's more than unethical. Not to let management off the hook because this was too wide scale but it took individuals to actually commit the fraud. Just because it's done or "ok" at work does not make it legal. If the boss told an employee to sell a couple grams of cocaine or rob someone at gun would they do it? Darn near every job and company comes with somekind of productivity quotas wether it sales or completed tasks etc. "pressure" is not necessarily an excuse or get out of jail free card.

Warren did some typical professional politician grand standing near the end trying to coerce the CEO to demand clawbacks or bonus/salary returns to the company.The executives and management at Wells Fargo need an overhaul including corporate HR because apparently their procedures have trouble finding applicants that are honest & ethical in a business that handles lots of money.
 
Elizabeth Warren is a national treasure, I have great respect for her and I feel President Clinton will put her in a position where she can do the most good.
 
I think the CEO SHOULD be held accountable. Eight accounts per household-- and it was listed in the report so who could possibly say they were unaware? Hard to find good help? Wait a minute....There was probably some layering between the workers and the CEO, but they had to know --again, it was in the report. Supervisors, managers, directors come on now. That was driving the stock up! 125 million dollar severance pay instead of firing that executive-- even making her eligible for a bonus. It smells, they were caught now what? It sure makes me wonder about banks, are others doing this?

I agree with Warren, he has to be held accountable. What was that guys' name that started that ponzy scheme? Maadoff? Tell him to move over here comes a cell mate. Sorry, we're talking a lot of money here and lest we forget the near crash of the stock market in 2008. How that man can just sit there and wave his arm around without even one legitimate reason is beyond me. I liked her comparison of the ordinary worker reaching inside the register and stealing a bunch of $20's--he or she would be in jail. When in charge, take charge!
 
I think the CEO SHOULD be held accountable. Eight accounts per household-- and it was listed in the report so who could possibly say they were unaware? Hard to find good help? Wait a minute....There was probably some layering between the workers and the CEO, but they had to know --again, it was in the report. Supervisors, managers, directors come on now. That was driving the stock up! 125 million dollar severance pay instead of firing that executive-- even making her eligible for a bonus. It smells, they were caught now what? It sure makes me wonder about banks, are others doing this?

I agree with Warren, he has to be held accountable. What was that guys' name that started that ponzy scheme? Maadoff? Tell him to move over here comes a cell mate. Sorry, we're talking a lot of money here and lest we forget the near crash of the stock market in 2008. How that man can just sit there and wave his arm around without even one legitimate reason is beyond me. I liked her comparison of the ordinary worker reaching inside the register and stealing a bunch of $20's--he or she would be in jail. When in charge, take charge!

The CEO bares some responsibility but none of it would've been possible without ethically & legally challenged bank/office level employees. Management is supposed to encourage ethical business practices and institute policy that keeps people out of trouble. But people shouldn't have to be told that using a customer's private information without their permission is not right. I have had trouble with a bank and know others who were sold stuff without their knowledge. I know someone who was sold credit card balance insurance and 10$ a month(which they never agreed to). It was a battle to get it dropped and refund. The salesclerk who lied and said it was mistake said just call the company to drop it.
 
The CEO bares some responsibility but none of it would've been possible without ethically & legally challenged bank/office level employees. Management is supposed to encourage ethical business practices and institute policy that keeps people out of trouble. But people shouldn't have to be told that using a customer's private information without their permission is not right. I have had trouble with a bank and know others who were sold stuff without their knowledge. I know someone who was sold credit card balance insurance and 10$ a month(which they never agreed to). It was a battle to get it dropped and refund. The salesclerk who lied and said it was mistake said just call the company to drop it.

Yea yea, let's just pretend 5300 individual employees went astray on their own, without any encouragement from management.

The actions were prompted by Wells Fargo's aggressive sales culture, which took hold after the 1998 merger between it and Minnesota-based Norwest. The head of Norwest at the time, Richard Kovacevich, who then took the reins at Wells Fargo, set a goal of selling eight financial products and services to each of the combined banks' customers -- be it a checking account, savings account, credit card, mortgage, home loan, or auto loan, among other things.
source .

I'd like to see about 534 more people in congress like Elizabeth Warren.
 
Yea yea, let's just pretend 5300 individual employees went astray on their own, without any encouragement from management.

source .

I'd like to see about 534 more people in congress like Elizabeth Warren.

There is definitely a management problem at Wells Fargo even if just blissful ignorance as to how those metrics were being achieved but what I've seen in the workplace working for big companies over the years yes 5,300 employees could wind up doing that crap without centralized direction. Most employees are either by the book or 'what ever it takes' to get the job done which is how they rationalize it.

Every job I've had in corporate America has had laughable goals when it came to productivity numbers and most knew it and that most of those achieving with regularity were cutting corners to say the least. Can't be fired for productivity can be fired for not following their processes. The multiple account thing is nothing new to banking. I've been told and had my account closed for me because they admitted they didn't want customers who used the bank/their account as an atm ie nothing but a checking account with an atm card.
 
The cross selling is prevalent at my bank (not Wells Fargo, but one of the larger ones in the US) as well. Leading up to retirement, I had a fairly hefty balance in a checking account. With interest rates being as low as they are, I didn't mind keeping it there as I knew I'd be spending it down this year. Any time I visited the bank, which is rare these days, the teller would comment on my balance and try to get me to open a money market or CD. When I had to go there one time to get foreign currency, that became another opportunity to bring up new accounts. Most recently, someone from their wealth management division started calling offering their services with investing. I've rebuffed all their attempts to sell me something I don't need, and just keep a checking and a small savings account with them. The mailbox is regularly populated with offers for new credit cards, home equity loans, mortgages, etc. They all go straight to the recycle bin.
 
The practice of opening up fraudulent accounts took place long before 2011 as first reported. Ex branch manager said she was told in 2007 to use the practice.

http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/26/investing/wells-fargo-fake-accounts-before-2011/index.html

Not surprising. In any company and/or industry with pressure to meet numerical goals management always seems to have a soft spot for employees that will do ANYTHING. They become their go to people and all too frequently a model or ideal.
 


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