The U.S. government announced that former head of Wells Fargo, John Stumpf, is not allowed to work at a bank ever again and will have to pay $17.5 million for his role in scandals at the financial services company a few years ago.
The government also plans to go after a number of other people, including multiple former Wells Fargo executives, who were involved in creating millions of fake bank accounts to meet sales quotas.
The notice of punishment came from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, an independent bureau within the Treasury Department.
“The actions announced by the OCC today reinforce the agency’s expectations that management and employees of national banks and federal savings associations provide fair access to financial services, treat customers fairly, and comply with applicable laws and regulations,” said Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting.
Wells Fargo, the nation’s fourth-largest bank, responded by saying it “will not make any remaining compensation payments that may be owed to these individuals” named in Otting’s notice.
The bank admitted in 2015 that thousands of its employees created more than 3 million unauthorized customer accounts as a ploy to meet sales quotas and has since had to pay billions in fines to settle the allegations.
After the OCC’s notice, Wells Fargo’s current CEO, Charlie Scharf, told employees, according to CNBC, that “the OCC’s actions are consistent with my belief that we should hold ourselves and individuals accountable.”
“At the time of the sales practices issues, the company did not have in place the appropriate people, structure, processes, controls, or culture to prevent the inappropriate conduct,” Scharf said.
