Warren on Wells Fargo chief’s resignation: ‘About damn time’

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Thursday celebrated the decision by Wells Fargo’s CEO to step down effective immediately, saying it’s “about damn time.”

“About damn time. Tim Sloan should have been fired a long time ago,” Warren, a 2020 presidential candidate, tweeted.

“He enabled Wells Fargo’s massive fake accounts scam, got rich off it, & then helped cover it up. Now—let’s make sure all the people hurt by Wells Fargo’s scams get the relief they’re owed.”

About damn time. Tim Sloan should have been fired a long time ago. He enabled Wells Fargo’s massive fake accounts scam, got rich off it, & then helped cover it up. Now—let’s make sure all the people hurt by Wells Fargo’s scams get the relief they’re owed. https://t.co/l7dYmBWRBo

— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) March 28, 2019

Wells Fargo CEO and president Timothy Sloan announced Thursday that he was stepping down from his current position effective immediately, and would be retiring from the bank entirely on June 30. His decision comes as the embattled bank struggles to escape from unprecedented penalties and scrutiny from federal regulators.

{mosads}C. Allen Parker will replace Sloan on a temporary basis, according to a statement from Wells Fargo.

Wells Fargo’s issues began in September 2016 when the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) fined the bank $185 million for opening and charging fees on more than 1 million accounts for customers without their consent.

John Stumpf retired as CEO shortly after and was replaced by Sloan.

In January of 2018, the Federal Reserve banned Wells Fargo from expanding its operations and ordered the bank conduct an internal probe into its internal oversight and risk management and explain how it planned to prevent future scandals.

Wells Fargo has paid more than $1.5 billion in penalties to state and federal regulators and more than half a billion to settle lawsuits related to customer abuse. 

Sloan appeared before House lawmakers earlier this month to defend his bank amid their difficulties.