Shareholders deserve the objective facts, without the PR spin, as do our customers and regulators. They are only hearing Charlie Scharf’s misleading public statements, which often embellish and obscure the truth:
- “We are making a significant amount of progress.”
- “We are working hard to transform our institution while supporting our customers, employees and the communities we serve.”
- “We are laser-focused on meeting the expectations of our regulators.”
- “We have very high standards as we go forward and complete this work.”
- “We are one cohesive group. There is a candor that didn’t exist at the company before.”
- “We are not significantly pulling back in any of our businesses.”
- “Employees are out most valuable resource and a key competitive advantage.”
- “We are customer-centric in how we approach our products and services.”
Shareholders deserve to know the truth about why they have endured a 26% share price loss from investing in the stock 5 years ago. This is after Charlie has thrown $65 Billion at the problem in a failed attempt to support the stock price Dividends are still half of what they used to be. Leadership at the top is unstable. American jobs are being offshored, potentially placing customer financial data at an increased risk. Expenses are being cut which puts our long-term prospects at risk. Many practices and products are for the good of the bank, not for the good of the customer. We can all point to questionable practices where leadership is looking the other way. Mediocrity is the new norm, excellence is out the window.
The public deserves the truth.