Wells CEO Says He’s In For The Next Decade

Wells Fargo Chief Executive Tim Sloan told Bloomberg late last week that he plans to stay on at the company for the next decade. According to a report in American Banker, covering comments Sloan made, the commitment to running the company comes amid rumors that the board wants to replace the executive.

“I’ll stay in this role as long as the board believes that I’m the right person for the role — and they do, and I think I am,” Sloan said in the interview. He did note that his future relies on whether or not the board is happy with his work. “It could be as long as tomorrow,” he said, according to the report. “So somewhere between tomorrow and seven years.”

The report noted that Chairman Elizabeth Duke said last week that Sloan has the support of all the bank’s board members. The executive has been credited by Wall Street for taking the steps necessary to respond to the fake bank account scandal and the subsequent scandals that have been plaguing the company for months.

As for regrets, Sloan said he wished the pace of reform at the company was quicker. “Sometimes we haven’t moved as quickly as I would have liked, and part of that is because of my leadership,” he said. “When I look back, I say, gosh, I think we’ve made all the right decisions. But are there some that I wish we would have moved more quickly on? Absolutely.”

Wells Fargo announced last week that it is reducing the headcount at the company by around 5 to 10 percent during the next three years to lower costs. The company said a lot of the workforce reductions will come via attrition, and that some positions won’t be replaced when employees leave the firm. The national bank has been suffering ever since its fake account scandal came to light, facing lawsuits and actions by regulators.