CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Banking experts said tough days are still ahead for one of Charlotte’s biggest employers, Wells Fargo, that employees 23,000 in the Charlotte area.
Anxiety is building for many of them in the continuing controversy over sales practices at the bank which involved employees creating unauthorized accounts for customers in order to meet sales goals.
CEO John Stumpf announced he was retiring Wednesday immediately because of the scandal in the hopes of getting the bank back on track, but some experts said the bleeding may not be over.
“It appears to go to the corporate culture, so I suspect Stumpf is the first of many heads that will roll in this,” economist John Connaughton said.
Stumpf’s voluntary retirement could reportedly allow him to take with him as much as $137 million in stock options and other retirement benefits.
Wells Fargo has indicated that board members may consider using claw back provisions to keep Stumpf from taking that money.
Stumpf’s golden parachute, however, is far from the only concern for customers.
Wells Fargo customer Mark Lindsey told Eyewitness News viewed his opinion on the scandal.
“Oh, most definitely. It is still a concern,” Lindsey said.
Customer Lashann Belin said she doesn’t know what the bank can do to regain her trust.
Banking experts said questions remain about whether the questionable sales practices found in the retail bank sector of Wells Fargo were also taking place elsewhere in the bank.
Connaughton said the bank faces a long road to recovery.
“This is not going to go away in 30 days or 60 days. This is going to be a long standing problem for Wells,” he said. “They need to admit their guilt. They’ve go to then work very hard to change their culture and to basically reach out to their consumer base and do a lot of work to retain customers.”
Cox Media Group
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