In this March 10, 2020 file photo, Wells Fargo CEO and President Charles Scharf is seated before he testifies during a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee, on Capitol Hill, in Washington. Scharf apologized Wednesday, Sept. 23 for comments he made that dismissed concerns that the banking industry, which has a long history of racist behavior, wasn’t doing enough to promote and retain diverse talent. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
By Ken Sweet
Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf apologized Wednesday for comments he made about the difficulty of finding qualified Black executives.
Scharf said that "there is a very limited pool of black talent to recruit from" in corporate America. The memo to employees was written in June but became public this week.
The comments and similar statements made in a Zoom meeting, reported by Reuters, led to an intense backlash in Washington and on social media.
"Perhaps it is the CEO of Wells Fargo who lacks the talent to recruit Black workers," said Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez of New York, on Twitter.
Scharf on Wednesday said in a prepared statement that his comments reflected "my own unconscious bias."
"There is no question Wells Fargo has to make meaningful progress to increase diverse representation," he wrote. Wells has pledged to increase the hiring of minority candidates, particularly through Black colleges and universities, as well as new anti-racism training programs at the bank.
American banking is dominated by leadership that is largely white and male. None of the six big Wall Street banks have ever had a Black or female CEO. Citigroup a few weeks ago announced it would promote a woman to CEO next year, the first on Wall Street to do so.
The last prominent African American to serve as CEO at a large financial services company was Kenneth Chenault, the former CEO of American Express. He retired in 2018. In an interview with The Associated Press at the time, Chenault called the lack of a pipeline to recruit and retain diverse talent "embarrassing" to the financial services industry.
Stanley O'Neal, the former CEO Merrill Lynch while it was still an independent company, is also Black. He resigned in 2007 during the firm's collapse.
Big Apple workers who deliver for food apps like Doordash and Grubhub will now receive a number of legal protections provided through a package of new regulations that have started going into effect. These updated rules include more control over their deliveries, pay and tip transparency, a higher minimum pay rate, and access to restaurant bathrooms during the workday. New York City Comptroller Brad Lander joined Cheddar to elaborate on the regulations and how the platform holders reacted. "I have to say it's a mixed bag," he said. "Grubhub actually welcomed the legislation and said they recognize they need to do better by their deliveristas, but DoorDash, unfortunately, has actually been pushing back against the legislation."
Stocks closed mixed Wednesday after the Federal Reserve's announcement about potential rate hikes this year, beginning as soon as March. That would be the central bank's first rate hike since 2018, and Chair Jerome Powell also didn't rule out a potential rate hike at every meeting in order to combat inflation. RC Peck, CIO of Fearless Wealth, joined Closing Bell to discuss today's close, the Fed's announcement, Tesla's Q4 2021 earnings results, and more.
Stocks closed lower Tuesday, but off session lows amid continued volatility as investors await this week's Federal Reserve meeting, where the central bank is expected to introduce tighter monetary policy. Microsoft also reported second quarter fiscal 2022 earnings after the bell. The tech giant beat on both top and bottom lines, but shares fell after hours. David Stryzewski, CEO of the Sound Planning Group, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss today's close, predictions for this week's Fed meeting, Microsoft's earnings report, and more.
Thomas Hoenig, Former CEO of Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and currently Distinguished Senior Fellow with the Mercatus Center, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says the Fed's decision was no surprise, but believes the Fed is behind the curve on raising rates.
Business communication platform Slack, recently released its fifth wave of results from its global workplace survey from its Future Forum consortium, showing that the workforce has already moved to a split between working from home and going to the office. “We are now officially in the hybrid era of work,” Slack Future Forum VP Sheela Subramanian said when discussing the findings. "Hybrid is a work model where people can come into the office as well as work remotely, and what we're seeing is that the majority of knowledge workers are now in this arrangement — and that number is set to grow."
Legal cannabis businesses are having a hard time surviving in California with the high cost of doing business and a still-thriving illicit market. In response, nonprofit Supernova Women, founded by women of color, is advocating on behalf of Black and brown shareholders in the cannabis industry. Amber Senter, co-founder, executive director, and chairman of the organization, spoke with Cheddar News about calling for changes in the Golden State's taxation system for legal marijuana. "We're really leaning on the legislators now to support the industry and make sure that this industry, in particular craft cannabis, can survive," said Senter.
After being among the hardest-hit industries by the pandemic, restaurants are still having a hard time staying afloat, with owners claiming that business is worse now due to closures from staff shortages and customer decline than it was three months ago. Mike Whatley, vice president of state affairs and grassroots advocacy for the National Restaurant Association, spoke to Cheddar News about how the sector is reaching out to lawmakers for help. "Working with Senators Wicker, Sinema, and a whole host of bipartisan leaders, we're trying to get the Restaurant Revitalization Fund replenished," Whatley said.
Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, founder of Strategy + Rest,
joins Cheddar News to discuss UK's pilot four-day workweek and its impact on workers' mental health.
Ed Gaussen, co-founder and CEO of Mantra Health, and Matt Kennedy, co-founder and COO of Mantra Health, joined Cheddar News to discuss the digital mental health startup's latest funding round and plans for the future.
