LOS ANGELES _ Embattled Wells Fargo & Co. Chief Executive John Stumpf will forfeit compensation worth about $45 million as part of the company's response to the still-unfolding scandal over millions of fake accounts created by bank employees.
Stumpf will give up about $41 million in unvested stock awards, or about 910,000 shares, and will not get a bonus this year, according to a statement released late Tuesday by members of Wells Fargo's board of directors.
Also, Carrie Tolstedt, the executive in charge of the division at the heart of the scandal, will give up about $19 million worth of stock.
The decision by the board comes two days before Stumpf is expected to appear before the House Financial Services Committee.
Stumpf came under heavy criticism last week when he was grilled by the Senate Banking Committee. The San Francisco banking giant has acknowledged that thousands of bank workers opened as many as 2 million accounts for customers without their knowledge.
The bank has agreed to pay $185 million to federal regulators and the Los Angeles city attorney's office over the fake accounts, a practice regulators say was encouraged by an aggressive and poorly supervised sales culture.
Federal prosecutors are investigating the bank to see whether criminal charges should be filed, and the Labor Department said Tuesday that it is investigating possible labor law violations.
