Reuters
- Wells Fargo & Co. CEO Charles Scharf was paid $20.3 million in 2020 compared to a previous $23 million.
- Scharf was brought into the bank in 2019 to resolve a host of issues and scandals.
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Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf took about a 12% pay cut in 2020, earning $20.3 million, according to a regulatory filing disclosure.
Scharf’s annual pay dropped from $23 million in 2019, according to the bank. His earnings in 2020 consisted of a $2.5 million base salary, a cash incentive compensation of $4.4 million, and long-term incentive compensation of $13.5 million, according to the filing.
Scharf was hired in 2019 after a long search for a permanent CEO following a series of scandals, including charging customers for auto insurance they didn’t need and the so-called fake account scandal that resulted in a $3 billion criminal penalty. In 2018, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency penalized the bank a $1 billion fine for misconduct in its auto- and mortgage-lending business.
Scharf was also brought in to resolve issues including the bank’s regulatory growth restrictions in which the Federal Reserve imposed a cap on the bank’s growth.
Scharf previously served as a top lieutenant to JPMorgan Chase and co-CEO Jamie Dimon during the 2008 financial crisis.
Read More: Wells Fargo is preparing to cut tens of thousands of jobs and pull back on lending to reduce costs
Wells Fargo & Co was reportely in talks to sell its asset management business for over $3 billion, an option that it was exploring since October, according to Reuters.
Wells Fargo reported its fourth-quarter earnings earlier this month of $3 billion or $0..64 per diluted share, on total revenue of about $17.9 billion, beating analysts' estimates on profits.
Read More: Wells Fargo has eliminated over 700 positions in its commercial banking unit
In October, the bank eliminated 700 positions in its commercial banking unit that provides services to business clients who mostly see over $5million in sales.
Later that month, the bank terminated between 100 and 125 workers for COVID-19 relief funds fraud. Workers lied on their applications in order to receive the funds.