Wells Fargo CEO To Appear Before Congress

Wells Fargo, the embattled bank, will have its Chief Executive Tim Sloan testify in front of Congress early next month.

According to a report in CNBC, citing sources familiar with the scheduled meeting, the CEO will appear before the Senate Banking Committee on Oct. 3. During his Senate hearing testimony, he is expected to inform Senate members about the efforts the bank has engaged in to repair the culture after a slew of fake accounts were opened last year.

More recently, Wells Fargo was accused of selling auto insurance to customers who didn’t want or need it. The scandals at the bank have resulted in lawmakers calling for the board to be ousted. Earlier this week, in an interview with CNBC, Senator Elizabeth Warren called again on the Federal Reserve to hold the board accountable.

Back in June, the Massachusetts Senator said in a letter to Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen that the Fed should remove the dozen executives sitting on the board of the beleaguered bank. In the letter, Warren said the scandal shed light on “severe problems” with Wells’ risk management. And the Fed, noted the senator, has the power to remove the dozen board members.

“The fake accounts scandal cost Wells Fargo customers millions of dollars in unauthorized fees and damaged many of their credit scores,” the letter stated. “The scandal also revealed severe problems with the bank’s risk management practices – problems that justify the Federal Reserve’s removal of all responsible board members.”

Further, Warren said the Fed “has done nothing to date” to punish the bank “despite its ample statutory authority.” Warren went on to say, “I urge you to use the tools Congress has given you to remove the responsible board members and protect the continued safety and soundness of one of the country’s largest banks.”