Bottomless Wells

10 March 2020 By John Foley Follow @johnsfoley

New boss Charlie Scharf won’t say when he thinks the U.S. bank will have fixed the “broken culture” that led to fines, or even if it will hit an important Fed deadline. It can be sensible not to chase milestones too doggedly. But the opacity leaves investors in valuation limbo.

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Wells Fargo Chief Executive Charlie Scharf appeared before a U.S. congressional panel on March 10, telling politicians that the bank he has run since October had a “broken culture” and flawed model.

The House Committee on Financial Services is holding a series of hearings on Wells Fargo centered around the creation of millions of fake customer accounts over a period of more than a decade leading up to 2016.

Scharf is the fourth person to run Wells Fargo since the fake accounts scandal broke in 2016, and the third to testify before the committee. Both John Stumpf and Tim Sloan resigned shortly after their respective hearings.

Betsy Duke stepped down as Wells Fargo’s board chair on March 8. She had been in the role since January 2018. Charles Noski, who has been on the board since June 2019, took over the position.

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