*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).

Share:
More In Politics
Why Putin Seems So Focused on Invading Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin openly invaded the neighboring country of Ukraine on Thursday following weeks of overtures and discussions on keeping an incursion from happening. David Salvo, the deputy director for the Alliance for Securing Democracy, joined Cheddar to go into the Russian leader's motivations. "What I'm sure he understands is that his invasion of Ukraine in 2014 probably ended the discussion of Ukraine joining NATO, even if publicly we won't admit that, that's just the reality. And I'm sure that President Putin understands that," he said, noting that Putin could be using the taking of Ukraine territory as leverage to gain more security concessions from the West.
U.S. Warns Banks to Prepare for Potential Cyberattacks
Following Russia's incursion into Ukraine, the U.S. is warning businesses and major banks to brace themselves for cyberattacks. Lester Munson, a senior fellow at the National Security Institute, joined Cheddar News to break down what this means for financial institutions “So we need to be concerned about not just intentional Russian hacks against American entities but also what Russia is doing in Ukraine. Those things can impact us as well," he said
What Investors Could Prepare for Amid Russian Invasion of Ukraine
After weeks of talks and posturing in hopes of staving off an attack, Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday, an incident that has already impacted the global economy, including the U.S.. Jason McMann, head of geopolitical risk analysis for Morning Consult, joined Cheddar’s Closing Bell to break down what investors might do to prepare themselves as the crisis continues. "I think there are a few things that we have our eye on over at Morning Consult that could cause the situation to become a bit more severe or unstable as far as market outcomes would be concerned," McMann said. "One of those things would be if the U.S. and the EU kind of moved in concerted fashion to block Russia from the SWIFT transaction system. So, I would say that's one thing that would be worth keeping an eye on."
Load More