The $41-million clawback that Wells Fargo slapped on CEO John Stumpf is a good start, but it's not enough, says one prominent banking analyst.
CLSA banking analyst Mike Mayo said on CNBC's "Fast Money: Halftime Report" that both Congress and Wells Fargo could take much more disciplinary action in response to the alleged unauthorized opening of accounts by the bank's employees, which has led to two Congressional hearings and an internal investigation.
"The clawback certainly hurt," he said, referring to the bank's move to take back stock awards it made to its CEO, "but I still think Wells Fargo could and should do more. Fire the head of the committee on the board in charge of human resources. Fire the head of the committee on the board in charge of customer relations."
Not only that, but the bank should do more for the customers affected by its alleged malpractice, Mayo said, and do a better job of defining the company culture, which the analyst admitted the CEO tried to do during Thursday's hearing.
One of the key aspects of keeping the company afloat, he said, was admitting to the imperfections that exist in the company culture and why cross-selling mishaps can happen even without executive pressure.
"My takeaway is about the banking industry. You heard the phrase 'cross-selling mania' and 'cross-selling bubble' as it refers to the industry," Mayo said of a popular theme in Thursday's hearing. "I think this accelerates the transition from physical banking to virtual banking."
He warned of the unintended consequences that could occur if big banks were dismantled, as some House representatives proposed (or possibly threatened) at the hearing.
For example, he said that if the United States were to return to the number of bank branches that existed in the 1950s from the 87,000 branches that exist today, approximately 200,000 jobs would disappear.
But, Mayo qualified, the United States does not need 87,000 branches, and if such a decision were to be made, it would increase bank employees' efficiency and alleviate the pressure that exists on them to sell.
All in all, Mayo said he stands firm in his opinion that more repercussions need to take place before Wells Fargo can determine whether it can keep Stumpf on board, as he called for in a note to investors on Monday. Either way, it's near-certain Stumpf will no longer be the captain.
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