Wells Fargo cuts some corporate bonuses

The board of Wells Fargo recently said eight senior executives will receive no cash bonuses for 2016 as part of and effort to improve the company's public image.

The banking giant in a March 1 release also said the executives' three-year equity awards from 2014 will be reduced by as much as 50 percent.

The actions involve President and CEO Tim Sloan; Chief Financial Officer John Shrewsberry; David Carroll, head of wealth and investment management; Avid Modjtabai, head of payments, virtual solutions and innovation; Chief Administrative Officer Hope Hardison; David Julian, chief auditor; Michael Loughlin, chief risk officer; and James Strother, general counsel, the release said. Additionally, the equity awards, which are another corporate-level performance incentive, are going to be reduced by up to 50 percent from what they would have been paid before based on prior performance targets.

“These compensation actions for the Operating Committee, though not related to any findings of improper behavior, are part of the board’s ongoing efforts to promote accountability and ensure Wells Fargo puts customer interests first,” Chairman Stephen Sanger said in the release. “As we seek to regain trust, the board is taking decisive actions. We will continue to work to make right what went wrong and remain focused on providing the accountability and oversight that our customers, employees, and investors expect and deserve.”

The total amount saved by these moves will be about $32 million, the release said. The moves come in addition to forfeitures of retired Chairman and CEO John Stumpf’s unvested equity awards, which total $41 million, and $19 million by former head of community banking Carrie Tolstedt.