JPMorgan Chase and Co. CEO Jamie Dimon criticized Wells Fargo's decision to announce their CEO Tim Sloan’s departure [1] without a succession plan already in place, according to an article from Bloomberg. [2]
Allen Parker, Wells Fargo's General Counsel, has served as interim CEO [3] since March.
Sloan’s departure came days after a congressional hearing and criticism from regulators over the lender’s scandals.
“I’d be surprised if regulators wanted that to happen because it’s irresponsible,” Dimon said at a banking conference in New York. Dimon said he had no knowledge of what led to Sloan’s exit.
Bloomberg said that a Wells Fargo representative had declined to comment.
Succession plans have been a topic of interest at JPMorgan in recent months as well. In April, the bank shifted responsibilities for two of its top female executives [2]—Marianne Lake and Jennifer Piepszak—positioning them to gain further experience that could one day help them succeed Dimon.
“It’s important to move people around,” Dimon said Tuesday. “I think we have two stars,” he said, referring to Lake and Piepszak.
A Bloomberg report earlier this month [3]stated that Wells Fargo's directors have asked senior executives for input, and some are lobbying for Parker to stay on as CEO, according to people familiar with the discussions.
“Although I do not know Allen well personally, I do know that he’s very highly regarded both internally and externally, especially in legal and regulatory matters,” former Wells Fargo CEO and Chairman Richard Kovacevich said in an interview with Bloomberg.
As Wells Fargo is allegedly considering outside candidates only, this eliminates current senior executive Mary Mack, Head of Consumer Banking, from consideration, according to Markets Insider. Among the female executives named as possible candidates [4] by Markets Insider are Marianne Lake, CFO of JPMorgan/Chase; Thasunda Duckett, CEO of Chase Consumer Banking; Barbra Desoer, CEO of Citibank North America; Jane Fraser, CEO of Citigroup Latin America; and Karren Larrimer, Head of Retail Banking and Chief Customer Officer at PNC Financial Services Group.