Wells Fargo hires another JPMorgan exec as shake-up continues

Wells Fargo is adding yet another New York-based JPMorgan Chase alum to its top executive ranks. The $1.9 trillion-asset bank said Tuesday that Mike Weinbach will become CEO of consumer lending, a newly created position, as part of its latest organizational shake-up.

Wells also announced that it will split its wholesale banking unit in two and create a new group that will be responsible for corporate strategy and the bank’s digital teams. The latest moves come less than four months after Charlie Scharf became the bank’s CEO.

Weinbach previously worked at JPMorgan as CEO of its home lending division. He is scheduled to join Wells Fargo in May. He will have responsibility for home lending, auto loans, personal loans, credit cards and merchant services.

Weinbach previously worked at JPMorgan as CEO of its home lending division
Weinbach previously worked at JPMorgan as CEO of its home lending division

Much of that portfolio previously fell under the purview of Mary Mack, the bank’s head of consumer banking for the last three-plus years. Under the reorganization that was announced Tuesday, Mack is now CEO of consumer and small-business banking, with new responsibilities for deposits and in digital banking, according to the San Francisco-based financial giant.

Two other top executives at Wells Fargo also saw their responsibilities change as part of a reorganization that expands the bank’s lines of business from three to five.

Perry Pelos, who previously led wholesale banking, now serves as CEO of commercial banking, which is one of the two units that are being carved out of what used to be wholesale banking. He is in charge of commercial capital, treasury management, business banking, middle-market banking and government and institutional banking.

Jon Weiss, who previously headed the bank’s wealth and investment management unit, has become CEO of corporate and investment banking, the other unit that is being carved out of wholesale banking. He now oversees services provided to the bank’s corporate, government and institutional clients, as well as commercial real estate and the bank’s international client businesses.

Wells Fargo said that it plans to conduct a search for Weiss’ successor as head of wealth and investment management. Weiss will continue to serve in that role until that hire is made.

The company also plans to search for an executive to lead its newly created group for strategy, digital platform and innovation, which will report to Scharf. Chief Operating Officer Scott Powell is leading this group on an interim basis.

“These changes create the right structure to build our businesses over the long term and increase our ability to successfully execute on our top priority, which is the risk, regulatory and control work,” Scharf said in a press release. “I am confident that this organizational model and our strengthened risk and control foundation will bring greater focus and accountability to this company.”

Scharf, a former top executive at JPMorgan, Visa and Bank of New York Mellon, is seeking to revamp the nation’s fourth-largest bank, which in recent years has been plagued by a series of scandals.

The bank’s regulatory woes led to the departure of two previous CEOs, John Stumpf and Tim Sloan, both of whom had been with the bank for decades.

Scharf has moved quickly to shake up the leadership ranks at Wells Fargo. In December, the bank hired Powell, who once worked with Scharf at JPMorgan, as its chief operating officer. And last week, Wells announced that Michael Cleary, another former JPMorgan executive, had joined the team to lead sales practice oversight and management.

Weinbach worked at JPMorgan for 16 years, where he held roles in consumer banking, business banking and auto finance in addition to home lending.

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Wells Fargo C-suite Career moves Consumer lending Wholesale lenders Wealth management JPMorgan Chase Charles Scharf
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