Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan and seven other top executives won't receive cash bonuses for 2016, the bank said Wednesday in what it called a move to reinforce corporate accountability following a scandal involving millions of unauthorized accounts.
Along with forgoing cash bonuses, the top eight bank executives will a 50% reduction in the performance share equity awards they received in 2014 and that vested last year, the bank added in an announcement before U.S. financial markets opened.
The decision will result in a roughly $32 million aggregate cut in compensation, based on 2016 target bonuses and the current value of Wells Fargo shares, the bank said.
Shares of Wells Fargo (WFC) were up 2.9% at $59.56 in morning trading.
The cuts follow previously announced forfeitures of $41 million in unvested stock awards by now-retired Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf and $19 million in similar forfeitures by Carrie Tolstedt, the former head of the community banking division involved in opening millions of accounts that were not authorized by customers.
Announcing the decision amid a continuing internal investigation of the scandal, the bank said the cuts were not based on any findings of wrongdoing by any of Wells Fargo's current top management team.
"These compensation actions for the operating committee, though not related to any findings of improper behavior, are part of the board's ongoing efforts to promote accountability and ensure Wells Fargo puts customer interests first," board Chairman Stephen Sanger said in a statement issued with the cuts. "As we seek to regain trust, the board is taking decisive actions. We will continue to work to make right what went wrong and remain focused on providing the accountability and oversight that our customers, employees, and investors expect and deserve."
