Just how hated is Warren Buffett's "favorite" bank Wells Fargo?
Not only are millions of clients dumping the bank following countless scandals involving the bank's cross-selling of accounts, not only did the Fed slam the bank with an unprecedented penalty (as Janet Yellen's last act before she retired), not only did the bank's former CEO, Tim Sloan, unexpectedly resigned under dramatic pressure from Congress, but now the
WSJ reports that the bank is having trouble getting top bankers interested in its open chief executive officer job.
According to the WSJ, the bank's board approached a small group of top candidates, including JPMorgan consumer banking chief Gordon Smith, PNC CEO William Demchak and former U.S. Bancorp chief Richard Davis.
The results were ungood:
both Demchak and Davis took a hard pass on potentially replacing Sloan, while Smith, who is JPMorgan's co-chief operating officer, reportedly told confidants that he is reluctant to take the job and is likely to stay at JPMorgan.
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