Wells Fargo announced it is changing up its leadership for its compliance team with a new chief compliance officer, who will start in January 2018.
The bank announced Thursday that financial services veteran Mike Roemer, who most recently served as group head of compliance at Barclays, will soon take over as chief compliance officer. After joining the company in January, Roemer will be based in San Francisco.
“Wells Fargo is committed to maintaining a strong compliance program,” Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan said. “Hiring a leader with Mike’s credentials is an important step in our commitment to building a stronger compliance function and a better Wells Fargo.”
In his new role, Roemer will be responsible for the oversight of all regulatory compliance risks for the bank. He will ensure that all areas of the company meet compliance management responsibilities and abide by applicable laws and regulations.
Roemer will report directly to Mike Loughlin, Wells Fargo chief risk officer and head of corporate risk. The bank announced the move as part of its development of an "industry-leading" compliance program.
“The current regulatory environment demands strong compliance leadership and Mike’s extensive compliance experience, particularly at a globally systemic important bank, is a welcome addition to the Corporate Risk group,” Loughlin said. “With Mike’s leadership, I am confident we will strengthen our ability to provide the needed tools and oversight for our team members to better serve our customers.”
Over the past few months, Wells Fargo has dealt with added scrutiny as it deals with the fallout from its fake accounts scandal, including facing fines from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and even calls from Congress to get rid of some of its leaders.
Before joining Barclays in 2012 as head of internal audit, Roemer was chief auditor with the CIT Group where he reported directly to the Board Audit Committee and had global responsibilities for the internal audit function. He also spent 23 years at JPMorgan Chase and its predecessor organizations in various roles.
