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The conversation around executive pay and rewards continues, with Wells Fargo approving a significant increase in compensation for CEO and President Charlie Scharf, who is set to receive $40m for last year, according to a regulatory filing.
The package represents an increase of more than 28%, or $8m, compared with Scharf’s $31.2m total compensation in 2024. Details of the award were disclosed in an 8-K filing submitted Thursday to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The San Francisco-based bank said the decision followed what its board described as a “rigorous and holistic assessment of company and individual performance.” Wells Fargo declined to comment further when contacted Friday.
Pay structure and incentives
Scharf’s compensation includes a base salary of $2.5m. The remaining $37.5m is split between $9.37m in cash and $28.12m in long-term equity awards.
The equity portion is weighted toward performance, with 65% delivered as performance share awards and 35% as restricted share rights awards. The structure reflects the board’s emphasis on sustained performance and long-term value creation.
Wells Fargo is the fourth-largest bank in the US, holding more than $1.7 trillion in assets. The bank employs about 215,000 people globally, with Charlotte serving as its largest employment hub, home to roughly 27,000 workers.
Leadership during transformation
Scharf joined Wells Fargo in 2019 at a turbulent point in the bank’s history, as it continued to grapple with the fallout from its fake sales scandal. Between 2002 and 2016, hundreds of thousands of employees opened millions of unauthorized accounts and financial products to meet aggressive sales targets.
His appointment followed a six-month search after the departures of former CEOs Timothy Sloan and John Stumpfl. Since taking the role, Scharf has overseen an extended period of restructuring and regulatory remediation.
In 2022, he asked the board to hold his pay flat at $24.5m, citing the scale of work still required to transform the organization. That request came while the bank remained under strict regulatory oversight.
Regulatory milestones and recognition
Last June, the Federal Reserve lifted Wells Fargo’s $1.95 trillion asset cap, the most severe sanction imposed on the bank, which had restricted its growth for years. The bank has also seen progress on regulatory remediation, with some 13 federal consent orders terminated, including seven in 2025.
In July, Scharf was named chairman of the board. At that time, the board awarded him a one-time special equity grant valued at $30m in restricted share rights and stock options. The award was intended to recognize his role in guiding the bank through what directors described as an unprecedented transformation.
