Buffett Weighs In Who Is Best Qualified To Run Wells Fargo

Outgoing Wells Fargo & Co WFC CEO Tim Sloan should be replaced with a permanent CEO with a background that isn't from Wall Street, major shareholder Warren Buffett told the Financial Times in an interview over the weekend.

What Happened

Sloan resigned in March amid pressure from U.S. lawmakers and regulators, and general counsel Allen Parker stepped in as interim CEO.

Buffett is the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B), Wells Fargo's largest single shareholder, and an investor in the bank for three decades.

Qualified bank executives will "draw the ire" of many senators and other lawmakers, and "that's just not smart," Buffett said. 

One out of every three U.S. households "does business with Wells one way or another," so the company isn't "losing any customers to speak of," Buffett said.

But the company is losing customers from the public sector, he said. 

Why It's Important

CNBC's Becky Quick said on "Squawk Box" Monday that Buffett's comments shouldn't necessarily be viewed as dictating how the bank should proceed.

Quick has interviewed Buffett on many occasions and said the Financial Times interview is merely his opinion on how the bank might want to proceed to avoid continued scrutiny from lawmakers.

What's Next

Wells Fargo is looking for a permanent CEO, and the bank's chair Betsy Duke said it is only considering candidates from outside of the company, according to the Financial Times. 

Wells Fargo shares were down 0.13 percent at $48.72 at the time of publication Monday. 

Related Links:

Sen. Warren On Wells Fargo CEO Sloan's Retirement: 'About Damn Time'

Wells Fargo Shares Trade Up As CEO Sloan Steps Down

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