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Wells Fargo fined $4 mln for illegally repossessing servicemembers' cars

On Thursday he shot down rumors he had expressed "extreme dissatisfaction", with Wells Fargo's board of directors, according to CNBC.

But lawmakers saved their biggest firepower for Stumpf, who said he didn't learn of the fraudulent accounts until 2013. "You have proved you did not offer leadership in this. These facts - as well as testimony from Mr. Stumpf before the Senate Banking Committee on September 20, 2016 - justify an investigation into at least three types of securities law violations", the Senators wrote in a letter to SEC Chair Mary Jo White.

Earlier this week, the bank took back $41 million in stock awarded to Stumpf, an unprecedented rebuke to a major USA bank CEO, but the move is unlikely to silence calls for his resignation. Rep. Jeb Hensarling, the Republican committee chairman from Texas, said the committee is conducting its own investigation of Wells Fargo that could include more hearings with other bank employees and subpoenas for more information.

Congressmen blasting Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf for his company's fake account scandal say he ran a "criminal enterprise" and could be prosecuted under laws designed for mob bosses.

"I, sir, think you ought to submit a resignation and your board can not hold off action on that", he said.

"I am sincerely sorry that we were unable to fulfill our obligation to our customers, to our team members and to the American public", Stumpf said.

Stumpf said an internal review would examine the roles of senior management: "The board is going to be involved".

As the hearing dragged into its third hour, Stumpf was asked about the show "Undercover Boss" and if he had ever served as a teller when visiting one of the bank's more than 6,000 branches and experienced the pressure to sell customers more products.

"Why shouldn't you be in jail?"

"Wells Fargo's fleecing of its customers by opening fraudulent accounts for the objective of extracting millions in illegal fees demonstrates, at best, a reckless lack of institutional control and, at worst, a culture which actively promotes wanton greed", Chiang said in a damning statement. The problem, he explained, was an ethical lapse limited to the 5,300 employees, a lot of them low-level bankers and tellers, who had been fired for their actions since 2011. Several lawmakers pointed out that while Stumpf agreed to a clawback, he has still personally profited during that time. "Wells Fargo failed in that obligation". Lawmakers blasted suggestions that because the wrongdoing affected a small percentage of accounts it wasn't material.

Experts said that if you have concerns, you should contact Wells Fargo and ask to review all accounts in your name dating back 5 years, and check your credit score. That's more than half the value of all of Ford (F) at $48.9 billion, said Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn.

"We have a culture based on ethics, and doing what's right", Stumpf said. But the damage was done.

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Wells Fargo fined $4 mln for illegally repossessing servicemembers' cars