Wells Fargo head could walk with $123 million if he steps down

There have been calls for Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf to step down in the wake of fraud revelations at the bank. But if he does go, he could be taking a lot of money with him

Since the news broke that Wells Fargo had opened millions of consumer accounts without its customers’ knowledge, there have been calls from many quarter for CEO John Stumpf to step down. But if Stumpf does retire, he stands to walk away with millions.

According to a USA Today report, Stumpf could receive $123.6 million in severance and stock value if he retires from Wells Fargo. That figure includes $25.3 million in retirement payments, a $20 million pension, $4.3 million in deferred compensation and $74 million in stock Stumpf already owns, USA Today reported.

Neither Stumpf nor Wells Fargo have indicated that the CEO might step down, but he is eligible for a retirement package should he do so, USA Today reported.

While Wells Fargo says it fired more than 5,300 employees over the fraud, no high-ranking officials at the bank have been fired or even punished. Carrie Tolstedt, the executive in charge of the unit that opened the unauthorized accounts, recently retired from the bank with a $125 million payday.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who sharply criticized Stumpf at a hearing last week, isn’t happy at the prospect of him receiving compensation should he leave.

“This is just wrong,” Warren wrote in a Facebook post. “If Wells Fargo Chairman and CEO John Stumpf can oversee a massive consumer fraud that helped put millions of dollars in his own pocket, and then walk away with a juicy $100 million retirement package, why should we expect any big bank CEO to follow the law? Mr. Stumpf will not be accountable for this scam – as he repeatedly claims to be – unless he resigns, returns every nickel of compensation he received while this fraud was taking place, and faces an investigation by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission.”