Wells Fargo CEO Scharf Apologizes for Comment on Recruiting Black Employees
September 23 2020 - 9:28AM
Dow Jones News
By Dave Sebastian
Wells Fargo & Co. Chief Executive Charlie Scharf apologized
in a letter to employees for his remarks related to recruiting
Black talent.
In a June 16 memo, Mr. Scharf said the bank's regulatory
troubles have made it harder to cast a wide net for top jobs.
"The unfortunate reality is that there is a very limited pool of
Black talent to recruit from with this specific experience," he
said.
His comments triggered backlash, at a time when companies face a
reckoning on race following the police killings of Black
people.
"I apologize for making an insensitive comment reflecting my own
unconscious bias," Mr. Scharf said Tuesday. "There are many
talented diverse individuals working at Wells Fargo and throughout
the financial services industry and I never meant to imply
otherwise."
Mr. Scharf said the financial-services industry hasn't done
enough to improve diversity, especially at senior leadership
levels. He said the company is requiring diverse candidate slates
for key roles with compensation north of $100,000, among other
efforts.
Mr. Scharf, who took the helm last year, is tasked with moving
the bank past a fake-accounts scandal.
Write to Dave Sebastian at dave.sebastian@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 23, 2020 10:13 ET (14:13 GMT)
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