Embattled Wells Fargo chairman and CEO John Stump has retired with immediate effect following a sham accounts scandal, the San Francisco bank said last night.
Stump's departure from the US commercial and retail banking giant capped mounting public outrage after the bank admitted last month that employees had opened millions of deposit and credit card accounts in customers' names without their knowledge in order to meet sales quotas.
Lawmakers in Washington had called for Stumpf's resignation.
They had repeatedly castigated him in public hearings for stealing from customers and pressuring low-level employees to meet unrealistic sales targets, all while touting the results to investors.
"While I have been deeply committed and focused on managing the company through this period, I have decided it is best for the company that I step aside," Stumpf said in a statement.
Stumpf had said publicly in mid-September that he would not resign.
The bank last month settled with US regulators and the City of Los Angeles for about $190m in fines and restitution, a sum that did not reflect the magnitude of the scandal's effect on the bank, which has seen officials in Illinois and California suspend ties with it.
Wells Fargo announced last month that Stumpf would forfeit $41m in compensation and receive no bonus for the year.
The bank said yesterday that Stumpf would also not receive any severance payment.
Stumpf will be succeeded as CEO by president and chief operating officer Tim Sloan, a 29 year veteran of the company.
