During Senate hearings about the Wells Fargo fiasco, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (below) was relentless in broadcasting a startling fact that most Americans have trouble understanding: despite the massive fraud that occurred under his watch, Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf hadn’t “returned a single nickel” of his compensation. Stumpf has collected hundreds of millions from the bank during and after the fraud.
Warren — a champion of the poor and the middle class — drove home the point because she knows that people in those classes get fired for incompetence, not rewarded with an outrageous fortune. Stumpf had said he was ultimately “responsible” and “accountable” for the fraud, which made Warren question his definition of responsible. But the severe pressure from Warren and her Senate colleagues have helped Wells Fargo itself define Stumpf’s responsibility — or at least put a number on it. The bank’s board will deny Stumpf $41 million in compensation he was due to receive. He gets to keep, according to the New York Times, the nearly $250 million in stock he’s already been granted.
