Rep. Maxine Waters, the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, called Thursday for the bank Wells Fargo to be broken up.
The Californian issued the call at a hearing to investigate the San Francisco-based company’s scandal involving millions of fake accounts created for customers who didn’t ask for them, in front of Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf.
“I have come to the conclusion that Wells Fargo should be broken up,” Waters said as the grilling of Stumpf neared the four-hour mark. “It’s too big to manage.”
Waters did not specify how the bank should be broken up, but said that she would be working with members of the committee to do so, referring specifically to Republicans and committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling.
“I’m moving forward to break up Wells Fargo,” she told them.
Other Democrats have called for breaking up Wells Fargo, including members of the panel who questioned Stumpf on Thursday.
For the top-ranking member on the panel with oversight of the industry and of regulators, however, a commitment to breaking up the bank is a new factor.
