The 2016 corruption scandal at Wells Fargo, in which executives pressured employees to meet “wildly unrealistic sales targets,” created a work environment described as “relentless pressure.” Once revealed, the massive fraud committed against millions of consumers led to congressional hearings, substantial fines by state and federal regulators, and a series of announced changes by Wells in which they committed to “building a better bank.”
You might think that this renewed commitment by Wells Fargo would start with targeted attention to its workforce. Instead, Wells Fargo has announced that it is laying off workers, while lining the pockets of share traders.
Wells Fargo has authorized $40.6 billion in stock buybacks since Trump’s tax bill was passed, with two new authorizations of 350 million shares in January and October 2018. What about actual spending? In the first nine months of the year, Wells spent $8.2 billion on repurchasing their own stock (in the first quarter of 2018, they spent $3 billion; in the second quarter they spent $2 billion; in the third quarter, Wells spent $3.2 billion on actual share repurchases). These are all funds that could have been invested in the workforce, rather than enriching top executives and shareholders who know when to sell.
Stock buybacks, also known as open-market share repurchases, occur when companies purchase back their own stock from shareholders on the open market. When a share of stock is bought back, the company reabsorbs that portion of its ownership that was previously distributed among other investors. This reduces the number of outstanding shares in the market, resulting in an increase in the price per share. The purpose of stock buybacks is to reward shareholders — which often include executives themselves — by raising the price of shares.
Wells Fargo plans to continue this practice. At an investor presentation in 2017, Wells Fargo CEO Tim…