Wells Fargo's top four risk management executives are to retire as a regulatory settlement nears, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing sources and an internal memo.
The changes follow a recent enforcement action by the Federal Reserve, which restricted the bank's growth and replaced four board members. The report, citing people familiar with the matter, said the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, another banking regulator, is getting close to finalizing its own enforcement action and civil penalty related to Wells Fargo's risk controls.
The retirements are part of a reorganization of the bank's risk management functions. The corporate risk group is getting more power to stop or modify business activities, the Journal reported.
"Strengthening and transforming how we manage risk is a top priority for Wells Fargo," the company said in a statement on Friday. "While more work is under way, we're making meaningful progress that is allowing us to better serve our customers and enable our team members to more effectively manage risk across the company. "
The retiring executives include Jim Richards, the head of financial crimes risk management; Kevin Oden, the head of operational risk and compliance; Keb Byers, the head of enterprise risk; and Vic Albrecht, the head of the community banking risk group, the report said, adding that the Fed and OCC have discussed the departures with the bank.
In January, the bank said Mike Loughlin, its chief risk officer, would retire.
Wells Fargo has been struggling to recover after admitting to a widespread fake accounts scandal that came to light in 2016. Wells Fargo workers had opened 3.5 million deposit and credit card accounts without customers' authorization.
Since then, more has come to light. The bank charged for insurance for auto loan customers without them knowing it, and extra fees on some mortgages. Most recently its wealth management division has come under scrutiny for sales practices.