Wells Fargo Shares Trade Up As CEO Sloan Steps Down

Wells Fargo & Co WFC CEO Tim Sloan is leaving the C-suite at a bank that has faced accusations of predatory lending, the creation of fraudulent customer savings and checking accounts and the forced sale of auto insurance to loan clients.

Sloan is retiring effective June 30 and is stepping down immediately from his roles as CEO, president and board member, Wells Fargo said in a Thursday afternoon statement.

The stock was up 2.77 percent at $50.45 in after-hours trading at the time of publication.

Wells Fargo General Counsel Allen Parker has been selected as interim CEO, president and board member effective immediately, according to the San Francisco-based bank. 

Sloan said in a statement that he is proud of his more than 31 years of work at the company and optimistic about Wells Fargo's future, but said the company will benefit from new leadership. 

" ... It has become apparent to me that our ability to successfully move Wells Fargo forward from here will benefit from a new CEO and fresh perspectives," the outgoing CEO said. 

The news comes just hours after Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) CEO Warren Buffett told CNBC that Sloan has his support. 

"I'm very empathetic to anybody that walks into a big problem at a very, very large and politically sensitive institution where you've got maybe 250,000 or so people and the bad acts of one of them can reflect on you," the 88-year-old CEO said. 

Berkshire Hathaway is the largest Wells Fargo shareholder, with a 9.8-percent stake as of the end of 2018. 

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Outgoing Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan speaks to the Detroit Economic Club March 15, 2018. Photo by Dustin Blitchok.