*By Bridgette Webb*
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) wants regulators to exert serious pressure on Wells Fargo ー pressure she hopes will result in the resignation of CEO Tim Sloan. But it's unclear whether the Senator's coaxing will have any real effect, said Pete Schroeder, a financial correspondent at Reuters.
"On paper, Warren can't make the Fed do anything," Schroeder said Friday in an interview on Cheddar.
The central bank is an independent regulator and technically can't make Wells Fargo ($WFC) do anything either, he pointed out. And the board "so far has been supportive of Tim Sloan."
"What's interesting with this new letter is that Warren is trying to enlist the Fed in her effort. Her argument is that you can't overhaul the bank's policies and keep Tim Sloan, who has been at the bank for 30 years," Schroeder said.
Wells first came under fire in 2016 when news surfaced that employees secretly created millions of unauthorized bank and credit card accounts without customers' knowledge. The phony accounts charged customers with unjustified fees and allowed Wells employees to boost their sales figures and earn more in commissions.
The massive scandal resulted in the ouster of then-CEO John Stumpf and the promotion of Sloan, who was the bank's president at the time. He'd also previously served as chief operating officer and CFO.
But under his leadership, issues have continued to rock the bank, including the news that it improperly repossessed military service members’ cars.
In a letter to the Federal Reserve on Thursday, Warren argued that Sloan is profoundly implicated in the bank's misconduct.
"\[She's\] really putting a lot of pressure on the bank and really pushing for \[it\] to really overhaul the organization, basically saying it's clear that they are not running the bank in anything close to an appropriate fashion."
According to Schroeder, "Warren has been on the bank from the first scandal."
In February, the Fed made the unprecedented move of ordering Wells Fargo to keep its assets below $2 trillion, saying the company had prioritized growth over compliance with regulation. Warren wants to keep that cap on business in place until Sloan is essentially forced to resign.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/why-sen-warren-cant-force-the-fed-to-remove-wells-fargo-ceo).
Americans continue to feel the pain at the pump as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, joined Cheddar News to discuss how prices are being affected by the war and how much worse it could potentially get for drivers. "It's obviously a fluid situation. In one field today, I might feel differently in a half hour. But for now, I think we could see the national average realistically go somewhere into the mid $4 range, maybe $4.40 to $4.65 based on what we're seeing," he said.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has entered its 12th day following what Ukrainian authorities described as increased shelling of encircled cities and another failed attempt to evacuate civilians from the port city of Mariupol.
Gasoline prices are pushing even farther above $4 a gallon, the highest price that American motorists have faced since July 2008, as calls grow to ban imports of Russian oil.
Jay Hatfield, Chief Investment Officer at ICAP, believes a lot of the bad news regarding the fighting in Ukraine and Fed is already priced into the market and looming uncertainty factored into Friday's movement. However, he also believes the upcoming Fed decision will be good news for Wall Street.
News of Russian forces taking control of a Ukrainian after artillery bombardment of a nuclear power plant raised concerns this week. Nuclear policy expert and Quincy Institute Distinguished Fellow Joe Cirincione joined Cheddar News to discuss the implications for a potential disaster. “I’m with the director general of the IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Agency. He says that he is extremely concerned, and that this Russian attack is a severe risk and that Russia clearly violated the fundamental principle of preserving the integrity of nuclear power plants," Cirincione said.
Amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, major businesses from BP to Big Tech like Apple have been pausing their business dealings with the invading nation. Brian Walker, chief strategy officer at commerce software company Bloomreach, joined Cheddar News to discuss how some companies are showing support for Ukraine and what this could mean for consumers. "Whether it be impacts on energy or operational costs, shipping and logistics, or frankly impacts on the financial services industry, these will have long term implications on retail prices," he said.
About 678,000 jobs were created in February, hundreds of thousands more than predicted, according to the latest Labor Department report, showing a broad economic recovery despite inflation woes. Heather Boushey, member of the Council of Economic Advisers for President Biden, joined Cheddar News to talk about the employment figures. "This really shows that the economy is now more resilient because of the tools that we have in place," Boushey said. "So I'm optimistic that we'll be able to weather future storms."
Ramit Varma, Independent candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles, joins Cheddar News to discuss the race and how he plans to tackle critical issues in the California city.
