John Stumpf

Former Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Wells Fargo

Search every verified John Stumpf interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. In September 2016, Stumpf testified before the Senate Banking Committee regarding Wells Fargo's creation of millions of unauthorized accounts. During the hearing, Senator Jeff Merkley questioned whether Wells Fargo had created a "pressure cooker sales culture" that put employees in an "impossible situation." Stumpf responded that such practices had "no place in our culture" and that "people like that do not belong here." He stated, "I started out today by accepting full responsibility," but also noted that "the vast majority did the right thing." When asked about overdraft protection practices, Stumpf said he did not have extensive details and would have his staff work with the committee. Earlier in 2016, Stumpf spoke at the Bay Area Council's Outlook Conference, where he discussed economic conditions and infrastructure investment. He stated that "failure is a necessary part of capitalism" and that "today is the best time to do a huge public sector infrastructure spend and investment." He also commented on housing affordability in the Bay Area, saying, "We need to fix that; we need to allow for the people who work here to be able to live and afford to raise a family here." Stumpf described Wells Fargo's community involvement as "community investing," adding that "we've never seen one of our banks do well over time where the community does poorly."