Key to the Wells Fargo-Fed Deal: Holding Directors Accountable

Key to the Wells Fargo-Fed Deal: Holding Directors Accountable
Executives were furious that the proposed sanctions seemed more draconian than those imposed on banks
that nearly cratered the global economy a decade earlier, according to people familiar with the thinking of top bank executives.
Executives had convinced themselves last year that they were out of the woods, according to the people familiar
with their thinking, who weren’t authorized to speak publicly about interactions with regulators.
Ms. Yellen’s successor, Jerome H. Powell, was the top Fed official overseeing the negotiations with Wells Fargo,
and he is likely to maintain the Fed’s emphasis on holding bank boards accountable.
While not adopting Ms. Warren’s suggestion, Fed officials emphasized to Wells the importance
of “refreshing the board,” said people who participated in the negotiations.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, had met twice with Ms. Yellen last year
to push the Fed to force out Wells’s directors, according to a participant in the meetings.