RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
The chairman and CEO of Wells Fargo is out of a job. NPR's Yuki Noguchi reports on the resignation of John Stumpf.
YUKI NOGUCHI, BYLINE: Wells Fargo had been one of the banks to come through the financial crisis with relatively little damage. That all changed early last month, when the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced it would levy a $185 million penalty on the bank for boosting its sales figures by creating fraudulent accounts. That prompted lawsuits, investigations and congressional hearings.
The bank said over a five-year period, it had fired 5,300 employees for behavior related to the fake accounts. Those reports prompted members of Congress and others to question why Stumpf still had his job. Giving back $41 million of his stock compensation did not quiet his critics. Washington state Democrat Dennis Heck offered Stumpf a prayer.
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DENNIS HECK: Then in the quiet and solitude of your home and in discussions with your family, you ask yourself, what's in the best interest of Wells Fargo?
NOGUCHI: Stumpf will be replaced by current bank president Timothy Sloan.
Yuki Noguchi, NPR News, Washington. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
