Wells Fargo chief to lose $41m after fake account scandal

John Stumpf, the embattled chief executive officer of US bank Wells Fargo, is set to have $41m of his compensation clawed back in the fallout from the company's fake account scandal.

The retired community-banking head Carrie Tolstedt will also receive a hit to her pay, as the bank aims to regain credibility following a difficult month.

Wells Fargo was fined $185m by regulators after it was found to have created over 2m unauthorised accounts and credit cards, in order to meet aggressive sales targets.

Stumpf will forfeit $41m of unvested equity awards, while Tolstedt will hand back $19m.

The California-based bank was heavily criticised during a Senate banking committee hearing last week, after 5,300 employees were fired as a result of the scandal. No top-level executives faced any action.

During an internal inquiry into the alleged fraud, Stumpf will not receive a salary. He will appear before the House Financial Services Committee on Thursday for another tough questioning.

Pressure is growing on Stumpf and Wells Fargo, and various commentators have called for him to stand down as a result of the malpractice.

He has already admitted to having "violated" the trust of the bank's customers, but denied that its executives directed employees to create fake accounts.