Wells Fargo is on it’s way out. It is over, just a matter of when. We don’t deserve to succeed. We have nothing unique or noteworthy to offer clients above and beyond any other financial institution. We are not trustworthy. Our technology is beyond dated. We are in trouble with regulators. We cannot grow. We are stuck fixing mistakes from the past, while our competitors are moving forward. We are eliminating the people on the frontlines who are willing to work, while loading the C-Suite with overcompensated country club boys who clearly will jump for the higher paycheck- no loyalty, no integrity, no experience in the real world. We overcomplicate the most simple task. We don’t excel at anything. Employees have been demoralized. Customers have been abused and cheated. Shareholders have lost 57% of their stock value as well as 80% of earnings income. No strategy. No vision. No innovation. No foresight. Why would anyone bank at Wells Fargo? I can’t think of one reason. We have nothing special to bring to the table and we destroyed the only thing that matters when it comes to managing people’s money: trust. It’s over. We are going to fail. It is just a matter of when.
44 replies (most recent on top)
@ 1hje+17UnYC0V
You missed the point completely. Kodak and Blockbuster failed because of their obsolescence and their failure to innovate. On top of that, customers were being ripped off for years (“late fees”). So, think about this: put together failure to innovate, ripping off customers and obsolete practices. Does that sound familiar? Wells Fargo does nor have a compelling value proposition in any LOB. Put yourself in the customers’ shoes and try to articulate why would you do business with Wells and how is that more beneficial than any other player in the market?
Can we all just start a Go Fund Me page for Schart, for letting him down, and move on with our lives?
I’m sorry but if you compare a global systemically important bank (G-SIB) like Wells to BlockBuster and Kodak.... then you have absolutely NO clue what you are talking about.
The amount of clueless people on here is absolutely mind blowing.
@1hje+17UnYC0V you are demonstrating exactly the kind of thinking that has WF in the current position. Kodak is a great example. You mention cell phones have replaced the need for cameras. Don't tell Canon, as it prepares to overtake sony in market share - in Japan. The problem with people like you is that you're so ignorantly wrong that you can't even see your ignorance. But hey, if I was paid to pump sunshine, I probably would ignore facts too.
@1im Kodak ? Blockbuster? Really? Sometimes I think people who compare wells to other companies that have went out of business have no idea why they went under. Kodak went under because cellphones came along and cut the demand for cameras. Blockbuster went under because steaming services came along and rendered dvd rentals obsolete .
Wells has poor INTERNAL systems that cause a pain for employees but that’s rarely passed on to the customers. What’s this new innovative product that is going to make banking an antiquated product.
Do you all really expect a company to shell out expenses for innovation when we are headed towards a recession?
From what I’ve gathered in this forum, most of you all are People who have held on to jobs that the marketplace deemed antiquated and either automated or shipped overseas leaving wells as the last rock in the pool of lava. You know once wells joins the rest of the industry in cutting your cost, the likelihood of you finding another role is slim so rather than try to learn a new skill, you’d rather complain about how mean Charlie is and hope the rest of us go down with you. Sad.
Reading the comments I see Wells’ true problem... near universal “Yes Men” and darn near no “No Men”. We now clearly understand the full scope of the Wells Fargo failure and what will be done. Wells failure will be an unfortunate footnote in Financial Services history
The OP provides a clear eyed assessment of the (nearly) inevitable dissolution of Wells Fargo. It represents the only foreseeable end state which is compatible with the U.S. banking system.
The thousand cuts will come like the rain until Wells is a small acquirable problem. So much corruption... so many corrupt leadership schemes, so many failures of internal and regulatory oversight. So many participating employees at all levels.
Wells is the next Kodak or the next Blockbuster. Its systems and processes are so obsolete that it feels like you work at a museum.
I agree with much of what OP stated, but now all and in response to the many people who asked on this thread and others, why people who are unhappy stick around - there are many reasons. For myself, I am still here b/c I have been for more than 15 years and I love the folks on my team and the people I work with on a daily basis - folks who are all trying to do the right thing as best they can with what they've been given. Plus, am also over 55 and it just not as easy to find a job as it used to be. Lastly, in this economy, better the a@@hole you know than the one you don't.
Post ID: @ful+17UnYC0V
Most of us are paid, partially at least, to have an opinion. In some cases, it's "that's not a bad idea - let's run with it and see what happens" other times it's " not sure I agree because of xyz. Maybe we could do either a, b or c with my recommendation being 'a' because ..."
That having been said, there will always be sycophants and know-it-all's so you listen to them politely and move on. It's hardly worth discussing IMO.
HEY YES-MEN!
I’ve got your back! It’s not your fault! It’s dysfunctional leadership. Whew! See below:
The Yes-Man Problem:
I don’t think most so-called "yes" people get that way because they seek to s— up to the boss. In my experience, most people get this way because they are responding to a culture or people in management who elicit and reward this type of behavior. Most so-called yes men are doing what they think they need to do to survive on a dysfunctional leadership landscape where all the signals and messages confirm for them that dissent is bad and agreement is good.
Of the many factors that contribute to a culture of yes men, a big one is when decision makers frequently surround themselves with ‘like-minded’ people (e.g., management consultants, executives and managers) and then reward them for constant agreement. When this happens, the team and organization will eventually fall short of its collective intelligence, collective creativity and collective ability to innovate. Not much undermines leadership effectiveness like surrounding yourself with or creating yes men who fear expressing dissent.
you'd think Charlie has better things to do than post on this site
To the OP, leave then. I don't understand the point of your post. I would bet that you don't even have your resume updated .
@vcb+17UnYC0V, Exactly. There are other jobs out there. People should really look instead of being on here griping that they hope their bread and butter fails. There's a saying that misery loves company but some of these folks are just plain asinine.
There are jobs out there and competitors are looking to hire talent away from Wells. I was recently laid off and had an offer almost immediately that pays $25k more per year at another bank. I start my new job the day after my notice period ends. Stay safe everyone and take care of yourself.
@kvy+17UnYC0V, you really believe you'll survive the CEO and the young pups? LOL. But according to your earlier post, Wells won't be around anyway.
Full of stuffing.
OP here:
I’m not walking away from my job because I haven’t done anything wrong. I have committed no fraud. I do what’s right for our clients, always. I speak up, in person too, when I see inexperienced people making bad decisions. Or self-serving people doing what’s good for themselves but bad for the business.
I don't s— up. I don’t have to because I’m good at what I do. I like my team, but I don’t like the bank. I am not the problem. My experience has been that it is the yes-men and the golden boys who allowed our prior two management teams to carry out the fraud for years. We had way too many “agreeable employees” who thought Stumpf and Tostedt were the path to success too. We need more people to take off their rose-colored glasses and put on their listening ears. More ethics, less cheerleaders.
So no-I don’t feel bad at all about highlighting negative things about the bank. My form of rebellion. Feel free to disagree. I get a kick out of it.
I’ve earned every penny of my severance. I’m not walking away without it.
I’ll outlast this shiny new CEO. Just like I survived the last 2 1/2 CEO’s. And I am confident I’ll outlive the feisty young pups here who hilariously don’t have a clue.
Unemployment could be a lot worse folks. In these times, don't complain. Be grateful for the now.
@wju, that's right. There is a pandemic and there are no jobs out there so where is the logic in hoping your current company fails?
Be grateful you're here for the time being. Such complaining a–holes.
@ruq+17UnYC0V hey corp comms, good of you to check in today. You talk about trimming the middle fat (which is good), but what about adding top-heavy positions? How many positions has CS created since he started at WF? How many of those are high six-figures or even seven-figures?
People are still here because we are in the middle of a pandemic and hardly anyone is hiring. I have been looking and interviewing outside the company for about 6 months now and still no offers. It’s not for a lack of trying I think problem is there aren’t a lot of jobs available. So we can complain all we want and collect a paycheck because at this point it is out of our control.
Post ID: @agx+17UnYC0V
FYI, those quotes are from an article where the author just bought the stock for himself. I could view that as a positive or a negative. Positive: putting his money where his mouth is. Negative: a little snarky to buy a stock and then hype it. But still, I give you credit for coming back with something of substance.
Unfortunately, there are just as many negative articles out there with a quick Google search. Notably today, more SEC fines to our prior management.
I say: Just let people post what they want to post. It’s no harm to you.
Interestingly, those who bother to disagree actually legitimize a negative post. If you think it’s nonsense, just skip over it. It’s the truth that gets people riled up.
Post ID: @pec+17UnYC0V
Maybe it's just a case of "Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty and the pig likes it."
I'm sure being as intelligent as you seem to think you are, you've considered the fact that folks consider some of these negative posts to be nothing more than drivel and not worth responding to.
Of course, I'm sure you know that already.
Charlie is getting the business of wells together. Trim the fat off middle management and sell the businesses that aren’t profitable. It’s funny because the people complaining about layoffs are the same ones talking about too much red tape and managers just collecting checks.
Not one person complaining about the sky falling can say why they’re still here.
The truth of the matter is the inefficient manner in which wells was run created an environment where we were one happy family and nobody ever worried about job security. Never had to worry about automation or outsourcing your job And that’s simply unrealistic . Welcome to corporate America folks. Odds are if you leave you’ll be going through the same thing in 5 years
@pec, so why are you still with Wells collecting a paycheck? No one denies the bank has its problems but the constant negative posts of hoping the place goes down and yet you're still here reaping the benefits while others who are unemployed and would love to be here is beyond ludicrous.
I wish this crime ring would fold, but we're still Too Big to Fail folks.
They may sell off a few parts here and there, but we're not going anywhere, and as far as criming goes, our brother and sister banks are just as sleazy.
I have noticed a trend, here, where those who disagree with any negative commentary about WFC never have an intelligent opposing argument. My conclusion is:
- There is no intelligent opposing argument.
And/or
- Those who disagree with negative commentary are not intelligent.
A quick search on google for Wells Fargo news and this pops up near the top. The bank is solid and is widely considered a hold. If OP has a negative view then he/she is part of the problem because that attitude will permeate everything he/she is involved in.
"This bank isn't going away
On the other hand, it's not all bad news. For one thing, it's important to realize that Wells Fargo is still quite profitable. Net charge-offs ticked up in the third quarter, but the bank still produced earnings of $0.42 per share.
Second, Wells Fargo has a long history of responsible lending and strong credit quality in its lending operations. It is this disciplined lending that allowed it to make it through the financial crisis largely unscathed and to pick up rival Wachovia for a fire-sale price.
Wells Fargo's annualized net charge-off ratio ticked up by two basis points to 0.29% in the third quarter, but compare this to 0.82% for Bank of America's (NYSE:BAC) consumer banking division and just under 1% for JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM).
Third, Wells Fargo's new CEO, Charlie Scharf, is prioritizing expense reductions, an area that has been sadly neglected by the bank in recent history. Scharf plans to cut $10 billion in annual expenses, and if successful, this could be a big boost to profitability."
Wells has lots of problem all right and no one else
to blame but themselves.
Yet, you're all still here.
LOL. Civil war..
OP, why are you still here?
@khk, why are you still here?
To bsq's point, right after the fake account scandal, I had coworkers complaining about Elizabeth Warren and saying this had nothing to do with senior management and it was just a few bad apples, and I had a boss saying that if we didn't believe in the company we should leave. And this is in a technical/analytical part of the company. I may not like hearing it, but everything in the OP is either arguably or demonstrably true.
@bsq, why are you still here then if it's so bad? Why don't you leave?
@bsq...so why don’t you leave..?
Yep, this company can’t do anything right
Tell us which statements in OP’s post are wrong, and provide examples to back yourself up.
What does Wells Fargo excel at? What does Wells bring to the table that clients can’t get at any other big bank? Are we not in trouble with regulators? If you say our technology is up -to-date, then please share which flavor Kool-aid you’re drinking. Can Wells grow? You disagree with shareholder info?
Do you disagree with the facts, or do you just enjoy complaining about the people who present the facts?
Yes-men are weak.
Interesting opinion, but it is exactly that...just your “angry employee” opinion
Post ID: @hgb+17UnYC0V
Why bother commenting in the first place would be a better question.