Multiple sources say the scandal-plagued bank has been putting out feelers to replace Tim Sloan in the top spot
Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan might want to start updating his resume. Board members at the scandal-plagued bank have reportedly been exploring options to replace the CEO – including President Donald Trump’s former chief economic advisor.
Board members from Wells Fargo approached Gary Cohn in early spring – just weeks after he resigned as director of the National Economic Council – about possibly replacing Sloan, according to a New York Post report.
“They approached him,” an anonymous source told the Post. “He turned them down.”
Cohn, a former president of Goldman Sachs, told the Post Monday that he was not still in talks with the bank.
“Absolutely not. Absolutely not – and you can put that on the record,” he said.
While it’s not clear how official efforts to replace Sloan are right now, some Wells Fargo board members are becoming impatient with the bank’s continued problems under the embattled CEO. Sloan was elevated to CEO two years ago after the bank’s fake-accounts scandal caused the ouster of CEO John Stumpf – but regular revelations of shady dealings at the bank have continued under Sloan’s tenure.
“Their board isn’t 100% happy because he didn’t stop the bleeding,” a Wall Street executive told the Post. “He still has their support, but they’re not in love with him.”
Wells Fargo is currently neck-deep in civil and criminal investigations and lawsuits over its sales practices. It’s also been revealed to have made mistakes that led to hundreds of home foreclosures, charged improper fees to mortgage customers, and charged customers for unnecessary auto insurance.
Although many of the bank’s questionable practices took root prior Sloan’s tenure as CEO, one source told the Post that he’s running out of time to fix them.
“He’s just one problem away,” the source said.
