Wells Fargo may claw back some executive pay: report

The board of directors of Wells Fargo & Co. is reported to be considering clawing back some of the millions of dollars in pay to some of its top executives.

The Wall Street Journal, citing an unnamed source, reported that Wells Fargo's board could move as soon as Tuesday to get back money from current CEO John Stumpf and Carrie Tolstedt, the bank's former head of retail banking. Stumpf is due to appear Thursday before the U.S. House of Representatives financial services committee.

Wells Fargo has been under pressure since it emerged in August that the San Francisco, Calif.-based bank had fired more than 5,000 of its employees over five years and been fined a total of $185 million US for making up millions of unauthorized bank accounts on their customers' behalf — often without the customers' knowledge.

More than 1.5 million bogus bank accounts were set up to meet sales targets, along with more than 500,000 credit cards over a period of at least five years.

Tolstedt left her job in July and is due to retire at the end of the year. According to a letter Wells Fargo sent to U.S. senators last week, her $90 million US in total compensation includes accumulated stock and options she earned during her 27 years with the bank.

Following his 35 years at the bank, Stumpf's total pay package is reported to be about $160 million US, including stocks and options, based on Wells Fargo share price on Sept. 26 of $45 US.

Stumpf was grilled last week on Capitol Hill by U.S. senators. He apologized for the scandal, but at least one senator said he should resign.

A shareholder class action lawsuit was filed against the bank, the third largest in the U.S. based on assets, on Monday. The suit, which is yet to be certified, alleges the company misled investors about its financial performance.