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Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf Steps Down

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101–110 of 211 posts

Re: Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf Steps Down

#101
post #64

Go Elizabeth Warren! Without her prodding, I am sure this would never have happened. He was very happy with firing the 5k employees and not taking any blame on himself for what was essentially his push.

I suspect Warren Buffet may have pushed for Stumpf's resignation/termination, as well as other damage control measures. This is a similar situation to the Solomon scandal, although Buffet has a smaller stake in WFC.

Was WF one the banks he took a stake in after the 2008 crisis?

Re: Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf Steps Down

#103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So a rule that denies listing articles from publications that regularly produce interesting stuff? That's the definition of cutting off your nose to spite your face.

This same article is on 20 sites. No reason to pay wall it.

In this case, fair point. Not all pay walled articles meet this criteria. Many do not.

Re: Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf Steps Down

#104
post #3

Meta: Looks like WSJ is smart enough now to detect the `web` links. I went directly to the site, hit paywall, backed out. Then went via the `web` link, same paywall. Went to `web` link in incognito, was able to read the (fairly anemic) article.

Try the "Paywall Bypass" Chrome extension.

Re: Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf Steps Down

#105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would be fine with "Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf Ordered to Pay Back Fraudulent Fees to Wells Fargo Clients, Out of Own Pocket" (possibly down to some wealth limit, say, he can keep the $35K he apparently pays to his employees if his fortune is not enough to restore the damage). I am not a big believer in jail as punishment (as opposed to "place we keep people who are dangerous to others, for the good of society at…

Punishments need to be out of proportion to the financial damages they do when they erode public trust, which is a good held in common (and the key to prosperity in the west). This is why someone who runs a charity scam should be punished more than someone who simply mugs people.

The question is, does punishment really work as a deterrent in this case? Assume that the penalty for fraud were lifetime prison or even death, but it only ever got applied to 0.1% of the people committing it. I don't think that would deter anyone. But a realistic chance (maybe even 10%) of losing your wealth, career and reputation would. Maybe even that is not needed, and you can build enough transparency into the system that violating trust (game theoretic defecting) becomes worthless compared to other options.

My point is, punishment for the sake of punishment is not in our interest. And sure, there is some value in creating a deterrent, but usually there are better ways to set incentives than just coming up with the meanest scariest deterrent you can think of and having that hanging over people's heads.

Re: Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf Steps Down

#107
post #21
post #14

I highly recommend listening to a recent episode[1] of Planet Money. This was by no means an accident. As a short summary of one employee's plight: Ashley, working for them and making only $35k per year in San Francisco, was continually harassed to sign people up for accounts they didn't want. An old man comes in, pensioner, $200 in overdraft fees due to being duped into excess accounts. She dips into her own savings…

"permanent blacklist"? That sounds like the High Tech Employees Lawsuit case, but a much easier win for a more sympathetic class of victim.

According to the episode it was the U5 form[0]. Banks use the form as one of the employment references.

[0] http://www.finra.org/industry/terminate-individuals-registra...

Re: Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf Steps Down

#108
post #14

I highly recommend listening to a recent episode[1] of Planet Money. This was by no means an accident. As a short summary of one employee's plight: Ashley, working for them and making only $35k per year in San Francisco, was continually harassed to sign people up for accounts they didn't want. An old man comes in, pensioner, $200 in overdraft fees due to being duped into excess accounts. She dips into her own savings…

Remember WF was one of the banks that failed the stress tests after the 2008 financial crisis. I've been trying to get away from WF for a while now, but no other bank can fill its shoes in terms of online services and ubiquity. Yet it has a culture of predatory capitalism where "your loss is our gain".

What is special about WF?

I use schwab as a main account (free ATM usage world wide w/ no currency exchange fees), keep a free BoA eChecking account for cash deposits that I haven't done in years and have credit cards with various banks.

I also use schwab & vanguard for index funds.

Re: Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf Steps Down

#109
post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Remember WF was one of the banks that failed the stress tests after the 2008 financial crisis. I've been trying to get away from WF for a while now, but no other bank can fill its shoes in terms of online services and ubiquity. Yet it has a culture of predatory capitalism where "your loss is our gain".

I lived in SF briefly and noticed the presence of WF everywhere in CA. I am from NYC, so Chase and Citi are more likely to be around. Just curious about "but no other bank can fill its shoes in terms of online services and ubiquity." I don't have that experience with other banks - I find the right agent and I get the right service, not every time, but definitely there are good people I can work with. Mind to clarify…

I should have clarified: "no other bank can fill its shoes" should have included the phrase "that isn't just as bad reputation-wise". Citi and Chase may be even worse than WF.

Re: Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf Steps Down

#110

I watched a lot of his testimony before the Financial Services Committee on CSPAN. So I am unsurprised. He took a fairly savage beating. For some reason, the fact that Wells Fargo is a really big enterprise cut no ice with the various Congresscritters. FWIW, I am not a "break up the banks" guy[1] mainly because of things written and said in podcasts by Charles Calomiris, author of "Fragile By Design" along with Steph…

"Canada has very close to only one bank.." That's not even close to accurate:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_banks_and_credit_union...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_banks_and_credit_union...

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