Stumpf's Code Of Ethics: The Case Of Wells Fargo Controversy

Term Paper Part #1

Wells Fargo is a company that has faced a great deal of controversy over the last few years. The main controversy was with fraudulent accounts being made for Wells Fargo customers without their consent and employees really focusing on cross-selling to meet sales goals. In 2016 Wells Fargo & Company’s Chairman of the Board Stephen W. Sanger addressed the shareholders that he and other board members where troubled that Wells Fargo had violated the trust it had with its customers by opening false accounts that the customers didn’t know about or want (Cowley, 2017, p.1). Former CEO, John Stumpf, discussed with Jim Cramer on CNBC the controversy soon after many allegations came to light. Stumpf discusses that the company of Wells

Although some of Wells Fargo’s actions were unethical, this did not seem to cause an extreme dip in the profits and in fact allowed the stock of Wells Fargo to remain relatively constant throughout the whole controversy (Cowley, 2017, p.1). In Wells Fargo’s Code of Ethics, there is the discussion of how Wells Fargo does have a strong focus on employee commitment and employees doing the right thing at all times, even if they are not able to makes sales goals. In Wells Fargo Code of Ethics and Business Conduct it states: “Conducting all aspects of Wells Fargo’s business and community involvement in an honest, ethical, and legal manner and in accordance with federal laws, rules, and regulations and the applicable laws, rules, and regulations of all localities, states and countries where Wells Fargo does business” (Wells Fargo & Company, 2017, p.1). Employee commitment and investor loyalty is noted and accounted as something quite important to Wells Fargo in the Code of Ethics and Business (p.6). In a statement about Wells Fargo’s commitment to being ethic and doing what their employees, investors, and customers would like, Wells Fargo discusses how they are committed to being better by taking action, compensating affected

Wells Fargo has a great deal of competitors to face in the world including four big competitors: JPMorgan, Chase, Citigroup, and Bank of America (Maverick, 2018, p.1). The stakeholders involved in this situation include the Employees, Customers, Investors, Government agencies, Special interest groups, Mass media, Competitors, and Shareholders. The employees have a huge stake in this interaction with the company because many employees were fired for being whistle blowers when reporting unethical interactions and actions (Cowley, 2017, p.1). Customers would clearly be upset with finding out they had accounts in their names and being charged for them without consent, as well as a sense of mistrust from most customers, even the ones who were not taken advantage of by this scandal (Cowley, 2017, p.1). Investors, Government agencies, Special interest groups, Mass media, Competitors, and Shareholders would all have in interest and be the secondary stakeholders because there were not directly affected by the dilemma, but they would be impacted. In reference to Government Officials: “Team members must comply with U.S. law, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and the laws of foreign countries when dealing with domestic and foreign government officials” (Wells Fargo & Company, p.15). Moreover, “A coalition of 33 consumer groups sent a letter to congressional