Wells Fargo has recruited Mike Roemer, group head of compliance for Barclays, as its next chief compliance officer (CCO). Roemer will join the bank in January 2018 and will be based in San Francisco.
In his new role, he will report directly to Mike Loughlin, Wells Fargo’s chief risk officer (CRO) and head of corporate risk, and will be responsible for oversight of all regulatory compliance risks for the company. As CCO, he will be charged with ensuring all areas of the lender meet compliance management responsibilities and abide by all applicable laws and regulations. He ‘will be instrumental in leading the company’s efforts to develop an industry-leading compliance program,’ officials write in a related filing.
Wells Fargo’s previous CCO, Yvette Hollingsworth Clark, in June took a new role as regulatory innovation officer. She reports to Steve Ellis, head of Wells Fargo innovation, according to a spokesperson for the bank. Kevin Oden, head of operational risk and compliance, assumed the additional role of CCO while a search for a permanent replacement was underway.
‘Wells Fargo is committed to maintaining a strong compliance program,’ CEO Tim Sloan says in a statement. ‘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.’
‘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 says in a statement.
Roemer will step down from Barclays’ group executive committee and leave the UK-based bank at the end of this month. Laura Padovani, currently Barclays’ head of global compliance services, will act as interim group CCO following Roemer’s departure, while an internal and external search for a successor is undertaken, according to the lender. Padovani will report to Barclays’ CRO, CS Venkatakrishnan.
‘Mike has made a huge contribution in his nearly six years at Barclays, first as our head of internal audit and then, since January 2014, as the group’s [CCO],’ Jes Staley, Barclays group CEO, says in a statement. ‘He was instrumental in supporting the cultural transformation of Barclays subsequent to the [London interbank offered rate-related regulatory] settlement, and in leading and recasting our compliance function to becoming the world-class operation it is today.’
‘My time at Barclays has been some of the most rewarding of my career,’ Roemer says in a statement. ‘I am so proud of what the teams have accomplished in both internal audit and in compliance.’
Ben Maiden
Ben Maiden is the editor-at-large of Governance Intelligence, an IR Media publication, having joined the company in December 2016. He is based in New York. Ben was previously managing editor of Compliance Reporter, covering regulatory and compliance...
