To say Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) put Wells Fargo's CEO through the ringer today would be a massive understatement.
In the latter half of John Stumpf's two-hour testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, Warren had her turn at the podium. She quickly cut to the heart of what seemed to unite both parties on the committee in frustration: the question of just what responsibility Stumpf has as CEO for the massive fraud Wells Fargo employees recent perpetrated.
Warren accused Stumpf of "gutless leadership," pushing the bank's now-infamous cross-selling habit to push up his own company stock, throwing in transcripts of 12 of Stumpf's quarterly earnings calls to investors. "You squeezed your employees to the breaking point so they would cheat customers and you could drive up your stock," Warren declared.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"You should resign. You should give back [your pay]," she continued. "And you should be criminally investigated."
Watch the video below. Jeff Spross
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.