A 33-year veteran of Wells Fargo has been tapped to replace the bank’s consumer lending chief, who left last month after he was accused of disparaging a former executive.
Mary Mack, who as head of the Community Banking division helped reshape and restructure the financial institution’s 9,000 U.S. retail banks, will now oversee both that organization and the Consumer Lending division following the sudden departure of Franklin Codel in November.
“By combining Community Banking and Consumer Lending, we are creating a more holistic approach to delivering retail banking services to our customers, which will only enhance how we help our customers succeed financially,” said Tim Sloan, president and CEO of Wells Fargo, in a prepared statement issued Tuesday. “Mary’s proven leadership skills, resiliency and the principled way she has driven change throughout her career have earned her the respect of her customers, colleagues and teams and the opportunity to lead this combined organization.”
Codel, who last year was promoted as head of Consumer Lending following a position as head of the San Francisco-based bank’s Home Lending division, was terminated following a communication between him and a former executive, in which he disparaged the regulatory system and a so-called “golden parachute” payment, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“Difficult as this situation is, the decision reflects our commitment to our values and culture and to executive accountability,” Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan said in November. “We have a strong team in Consumer Lending and I am fully confident that the transition will be smooth and that its businesses will continue to operate normally in serving our customers.”
Based in Iowa, Wells Fargo’s Consumer Lending program employs a staff of 45,000 and includes the bank’s home lending, auto dealer services, personal lending and personal insurance divisions. Wells Fargo is the world’s second-largest home mortgaging servicer.
On Tuesday, Mack, who formerly served as head of Wells Fargo Advisors’ retail brokerage business, praised the decision to merge the two organizations and signaled her willingness to move forward. In the role, Mack will continue to serve on Wells Fargo’s Operating Committee.
“I am incredibly excited about this opportunity to bring together these talented teams with a common purpose to provide the best in financial service and advice to our customers,” said Mack. “I look forward to engaging with the team as we chart the path forward to deliver exceptional experiences and value to our customers.”
Wells Fargo suffered serious setbacks this year and last following news that bank employees had created as many as 3.5 million fake accounts using fictitious information to hit internal sales goals. The bank was fined $185 million and axed 70 senior executives. Then-CEO John Stumpf announced his retirement in 2016 following pressure from the public and lawmakers.
Earlier this year, meanwhile, the bank was blasted for fraudulently charging as many as 570,000 customers for auto insurance and approximately 110,000 mortgage customers.
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