In Open Letter, Wells Fargo Says It Is Committed To Customers

Wells Fargo is seeking to reassure its customers, and perhaps gain new ones, with a commitment stated in black and white.

In an open letter, Tim Sloan, who marks his half-year point at the helm of Wells Fargo as CEO, stated that there has been “progress that I want to share with you” in the wake of the well-publicized settlement over the bank’s retail sales practices; many of those initiatives were previously reported.

Among those achievements, as noted by the executive, and to reiterate: The company has refunded $3.2 million to retail and small business accounts, totaling 130,000 in number. And, in reference to credit impact, said the executive, “we commit to you that we will make things right.” Product sales goals have been eliminated, and the firm boosted pay for entry-level employees nationwide.

In other initiatives, the firm has created an ethics office, formally known as the Office of Ethics, Oversight and Integrity, along with management and banker training related to those areas.

“Building a better bank is about fixing what went wrong and committing to find new and better ways to serve our customers. Even as I write this, we continue to introduce new ways to deliver services, develop our people and manage risks,” said Sloan, while noting that Wells Fargo’s board of directors will issue the results of its independent investigation “in the near term.”