Wells Fargo, Brand Exec Retooling Bank’s Image to Part Ways

Wells Fargo will be replacing Barri Rafferty, who was the point person for rehabilitating the bank’s image, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday (March 2).

“Barri brought an innovative approach to communications and brand at Wells Fargo, and we are grateful for her efforts,” a spokeswoman for the bank said in a statement.

Rafferty held the role for less than two years, and oversaw communications and brand management. According to a memo sent to staff, she will leave May 1.

Rafferty was part of the new leadership team taking shape under CEO Charles Scharf, who joined in the fall of 2019 after the scandal about Wells Fargo making fake accounts under real peoples’ names came out, which ended up getting the bank in trouble with regulators.

Since then, the bank has still been striving to repair its image and keep the regulators happier.

Rafferty’s background included running a public relations firm, though she did not have experience working in banks. According to the report, her organizational structure was reportedly more like a PR agency as she grouped staffers by areas of expertise, seeking to be proactive with getting good publicity.

The reorganization and shifting priorities under Rafferty rubbed some staffers the wrong way, per anonymous sources. Bill Daley, vice chairman for public affairs, has been quoted as saying the bank has an “exceptional group” of senior leaders who will keep the transition going.

Wells Fargo also recently had a regulatory order from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) eliminated, which involved add-on products which were sold improperly by the bank.

Read more: Wells Fargo Sees Regulatory Order Eliminated as Company Moves Past Account Opening Scandals

That shows how Scharf has been making progress in making things better for the scandal-ridden bank.

The report notes that Wells Fargo stopped selling the products in question in 2017, and the bank said its top priority was “building a risk and control infrastructure appropriate for its size and complexity.”