Elizabeth Warren is not done with Wells Fargo or its now-former chief executive John Stumpf.
Facing a public outcry over widespread fraud allegations, the bank announced on Wednesday that the 63-year-old Stumpf was retiring. But that’s just the first step, according to the Democratic Massachusetts senator, who ripped Stumpf apart at a Senate hearing in September for his role in the scam.
At the time, Warren called for three things: Stumpf’s ouster; an investigation of the bank by the Justice Department and SEC; and for Stumpf to be forced to give back all the money he made while the scam was ongoing. (While the bank was fined $185 million by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for five years of misbehavior, it’s still unclear how long the shady practice was going on.)
“So far, he’s one for three,” Warren said in a statement. “If Mr. Stumpf is leaving with all of his ill-gotten millions that’s still not real accountability. A bank teller would face criminal charges and a prison sentence for stealing a handful of 20s from the cash drawer. A bank CEO should not be able to oversee a massive fraud and simply walk away to enjoy his millions in retirement.”
Although he is not taking any severance pay, Stumpf is walking away with stock and retirement benefits worth about $120 million, according to an estimate in the Wall Street Journal. He may yet have to give some of that up.
Last month, Stumpf agreed to forfeit his bonus, part of his $2.8 million annual salary and $41 million in stock as a result of the scandal. In his resignation letter on Wednesday, he reportedly said that he wouldn’t cash any of his Wells Fargo stock until the board completes its investigation.
So far at least 3,500 of the bank’s employees were fired for participating in the scam, where sales associates created at least 2 million accounts for customers without their knowledge in order to meet sky-high sales quotas. None of those employees received millions of dollars in compensation on their way out.
Carrie Toldstedt, the executive in charge of the consumer banking division where the fraud took place, announced an early retirement just a few weeks ago. She walked away with a reported $124.6 million retirement package.