Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf Retires

(RTTNews) - Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) Wednesday said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Stumpf is retiring from the company and the Board, as the bank struggles to re-establish itself after the fake-account scandal.

The Board has elected Tim Sloan, the company's President and Chief Operating Officer, to succeed Stumpf. Stephen Sanger has been appointed as the Board's non-executive Chairman. Sloan will retain the title of President.

Sanger said, "Stumpf believes new leadership at this time is appropriate to guide Wells Fargo through its current challenges and take the Company forward. The Board of Directors has great confidence in Tim Sloan. He is a proven leader who knows Wells Fargo's operations deeply, holds the respect of its stakeholders, and is ready to lead the Company into the future."

Wells Fargo has been marred by a scandal after its retail banking segment employees opened up more than two million unauthorized bank and credit card accounts over the past five years and used those fake accounts to charge extra fees from customers. The bank fired around 5,300 employees for opening accounts without authorization.

Stumpf testified two times before the Congress, while Wells Fargo has agreed to a $185 million settlement with regulators to settle the scandal.

Stumpf, a 34-year veteran of the company, joined Wells Fargo in 1982 as part of the former Norwest Bank, becoming Wells Fargo's CEO in June 2007 and its chairman in January 2010. "I am also very optimistic about its future, because of our talented and caring team members and the goodwill the stagecoach continues to enjoy with tens of millions of customers," Stumpf said.

WFC closed Wednesday's trading at $45.32, down $0.13 or 0.29%, on the NYSE. The stock, however, gained $0.71 or 1.57% in the after-hours trade.