Wells fires a blast

Lambastes execs, claws back $75M

Wells Fargo said it has clawed back an extra $75 million from ex-Chief Executive John Stumpf and one of his top lieutenants in connection with the bank’s fake-accounts scandal.

The San Francisco-based financial giant said Carrie Tolstedt, the former head of its retail division, had been fired for cause and would be forfeiting her outstanding stock options with an approximate value of $47.3 million.

The board of directors, which is facing a possible shake-up by angry investors at the bank’s annual meeting later this month, said it also had decided to claw back approximately $28 million of Stumpf ’s bonus, which was paid in March 2016.

In total, the bank has fired five senior retail bank executives, including Tolstedt, over the scandal and has imposed forfeitures, clawbacks and compensation adjustments on senior leaders totaling more than $180 million, including $69 million from Stumpf and $67 million from Tolstedt.

In a 110-page report released Monday, the board blasted Stumpf, who retired under pressure from the scandal in October. But it laid most of the blame on Tolstedt, whom Stumpf had called “the best banker in America,” according to one director.

In the report, which was carried out by the bank’s chairman, Stephan Sanger, and three other independent directors, Tolstedt is blamed for ignoring the systemic nature of the problem, which was pinned instead on individual wrongdoers, and accused of obstructing the board’s efforts to get to the bottom of what was going on.

Stumpf was described as blinded by Wells Fargo’s cross-selling success. He refused to believe the model was seriously impaired and was full of admiration for Tolstedt, with whom he had a long working relationship.

Tim Sloan, who replaced Stumpf as CEO, is described in the report as having little contact with sales practices at the bank before becoming chief operating officer and Tolstedt’s boss in November 2015. Six months later, he told her to step aside.