Wells Fargo & Co. has combined its community banking and consumer lending divisions under the leadership of Mary Mack, the company announced in a press release Monday.
The announcement comes after the bank fired the previous head of consumer lending, Franklin Codel, in November for inappropriate behavior with a former team member regarding that employee’s earlier termination. Mack has been promoted to take on Codel’s former duties effective immediately while continuing her commitment to the community banking division.
Consumer lending includes Wells Fargo’s dealer services, home lending, student lending, and personal lending organizations. She oversees 115,000 employees across the bank’s suite of financial products and services.
Mack started her 33-year career with Wells Fargo in 1984. She began leading community banking in July 2016 and has served in a number of roles prior to that including president of Wells Fargo Advisors LLC, head of the financial services group, and head of wealth brokerage services.
“By combining community banking and consumer lending, we are creating a more holistic approach to delivering retail banking services to our customers, which will only enhance how we help our customers succeed financially,” said Tim Sloan, president and chief executive. “Mary’s proven leadership skills, resiliency, and the principled way she has driven change throughout her career have earned her the respect of her customers, colleagues, and teams and the opportunity to lead this combined organization.”
Laura Schupbach, head of Wells Fargo Dealer Services, will report directly to Mack. The auto division is currently being investigated by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for improperly charging consumers for auto insurance they didn’t need and “insufficiently” remediating those costs, according to a leaked report.
Additionally, Wells Fargo Dealer Services if going through a consolidation of its regional service centers. In total, 57 regional collections centers are closing and will be consolidated in three locations in Irving, Texas; Chandler, Ariz.; and Raleigh, N.C., over the next two to three quarters. Funding operations will be consolidated into two of those centers in Irving and Chandler. Dealership sales and relationships teams will remain at their current regional centers and over time will be moved into other existing Wells Fargo buildings.
“I am incredibly excited about this opportunity to bring together these talented teams with a common purpose to provide the best in financial service and advice to our customers,” said Mack. “I look forward to engaging with the team as we chart the path forward to deliver exceptional experiences and value to our customers.”