Sorry simply wasn't good enough.
John Stumpf, the CEO of U.S. bank Wells Fargo, apologized Tuesday after his company opened millions of fake accounts in order to meet tough sales targets.
But Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren was having none of it. She tore into Stumpf at a Senate Banking Committee hearing and told Stumpf he should resign.
Warren asked the CEO whether he returned any of the money he earned while Wells Fargo was operating on the system, through which the bank cross-sold its clients, or sold them multiple products.
In doing so, staffers created bank and credit card accounts without customers' permission and transferred money into them. The bank aimed for each customer to have an average of eight accounts.
Warren said that Stumpf earned over $200 million while this was going on.
This is how one of the exchanges between Warren and Stumpf went down:
Warren: “Have you returned one nickel of the millions of dollars that you were paid while this scam was going on?”
Stumpf: “First of all, this was by one per cent of our people…”
Warren: “That’s not my question, my question is about responsibility. Have you returned one nickel of the millions of dollars that you were paid while this scam was going on?”
Stumpf: “The board will take care of that…”
Warren: “Have you returned one nickel of the money you earned while this scam was going on?”
Stumpf: “And the board…”
Warren: “I will take that as a no, then.”
But Warren wasn't finished. She asked Stumpf whether he had fired a "single senior executive" in connection with the scheme.
He said no.
Warren then asked Stumpf if he knew how much money he made while employees were using these techniques.
He wouldn't say.
Warren noted that other big banks average only three accounts per customer, but that Stumpf set a goal of eight because, "eight rhymes with great."
"You should resign," the senator said. "You should give back the money you took while this scam was going on, and you should be criminally investigated by both the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission."
Watch the video embedded above for more from the hearing.
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