PBS高端访谈:富国银行员工是否遭受了不公平的销售压力?

 　　GWEN IFILL: The CEO of Wells Fargo appeared on Capitol Hill and faced a barrage¹ of questions about the bank's conduct under his leadership, and why employees opened nearly two million phony accounts.

　　Regulators say employees, under pressure to meet sales goals, had secretly created unauthorized bank and credit card accounts for customers, since 2011, without their knowledge.

　　Today, bank chairman John Stumpf apologized before the Senate Banking² Committee.

　　JOHN STUMPF, CEO, Wells Fargo: I am deeply sorry that we failed to fulfill³ on our responsibility to our customers, to our team members and to the American public. We never directed, nor wanted our team members to provide products and services to customers that they didn't want.

　　That is not good for our customers, and that is not good for our business. It is against everything we stand for as a company.

　　GWEN IFILL: More than 5,000 workers, mostly lower-level, have been fired. But senators on both sides of the aisle⁴ said it was Stumpf who should be paying the price.

　　Massachusetts Democrat⁵ Elizabeth Warren:

　　SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-Mass.): So, you haven't resigned. You haven't returned a single nickel of your personal earnings⁶. You haven't fired a single senior executive.

　　Instead, evidently, your definition of accountable is to push the blame to your low-level employees who don't have the money for a fancy P.R. firm to defend themselves. It's gutless leadership.

　　You squeezed your employees to the breaking point, so they would cheat customers and you could drive up the value of your stock and put hundreds of millions of dollars in your own pocket. And when it all blew up, you kept your job. You kept your multimillion-dollar bonuses.

　　富国银行员工是否遭受了不公平的销售压力

　　GWEN IFILL: We turn now to Michael Corkery, who's been reporting on the story for The New York Times.

　　Michael, you were in the room today, in the hearing chamber⁷ today, and you saw the outrage⁸ that was expressed by Republicans and Democrats⁹, not just Elizabeth Warren, but also David Vitter. Outrage is easy. What's the fix that — the fix they're asking for?

　　MICHAEL CORKERY, The New York Times: Well, I think they want more accountability.

　　I mean, this fraud was extraordinary for how widespread it was. I mean, it affected¹⁰ thousands of customers. We're talking upwards¹¹ of two million potentially fake — they created — accounts by Wells Fargo employees; 5,300 bank workers, mostly low-level, low-paid bank workers have been fired, but I think what the committee was focused on and what Elizabeth Warren in particular was taking up the charge for was that none of the senior executives seem to have been affected, either losing their jobs or taking back some of their compensation.

　　GWEN IFILL: How long have senior executives known about this problem?

　　MICHAEL CORKERY: Well, John Stumpf said he knew — he first knew about it in 2013, though the problems may have gone back to 2011.

　　But even 2013, this problem has been going on for three years in some form or another. Those employees that have been fired have been fired over a period of five years. And, you know, even up to this year, people were being fired at the bank for this behavior, low-level workers.

　　So I think, again, the committee was focused on, why didn't you do more sooner to take care of this problem and get rid of it?

　　GWEN FILL: Now, some employees said that this problem propped¹² up because of a culture of competition at Wells Fargo. What are they talking about?

　　MICHAEL CORKERY: Wells is a very hard-driving bank. It's very successful, very profitable.

　　Stock has been on a tear. What they say is that employees were under these — enormous pressure to meet these sales goals, to open as many new accounts as they can. In fact, John Stumpf wanted all bank customers — one of his goals was to have every bank customer have eight accounts, eight products with Wells Fargo.

　　It's an enormous amount of products. I mean, if you think, well, you have got a loan, or a checking account, a savings¹³ account. And so these employees thought they were unrealistic. They said they were totally unrealistic.

　　And in order the meet them, not just to gain big bonuses, but just to keep their jobs, they felt compelled to meet these. And in order to do that, many of these former employees said they needed to bend the rules, they need to fake them.

　　GWEN IFILL: Is there a dollar number you can put on a number of accounts, the dollar impact on actual account holders¹⁴ who found out that they held a lot more accounts in their name than they realized?

　　MICHAEL CORKERY: Right now, regulators, particularly the CFPB, started by Elizabeth Warren, has put the number at about $2 million.

　　It's not a big number, when you consider the extent of the fraud. And that's what's kind of weird¹⁵ here, is that, yes, these fees meant things to people. These were overdraft¹⁶ fees. These were late fees on credit cards they didn't know they had.

　　But, again, it was happening in ways where sometimes a bank employee would open up an account for someone, the person didn't know it, and then two days later they would close it. And they would just do it just to get credit for the sale. And it suggests that this selling culture was so broken, that it wasn't even making the bank money. It was just meeting goals for the sake of meeting goals.

　　GWEN IFILL: But some of the sympathy in the hearing today seemed to be for employees who were fired, who they think were treated as scapegoats¹⁷?

　　MICHAEL CORKERY: Yes.

　　I think if — they kept coming back to this point over and over, again, 5,000 employees. And these are people mostly who make about $12 an hour. Those are the ones who have been fired. At this point, other than the few, as John Stumpf said quite vaguely¹⁸, managers and managers of managers, nobody in the C suite¹⁹, no big, top executive has lost their job.

　　And I think that has the optics at least of the little guy gets squeezed and gets hurt and takes the fall, and the big CEOs get off.

　　GWEN IFILL: Michael Corkery of The New York Times, thank you very much.

　　MICHAEL CORKERY: Thank you.

1 barrage   

n.火力网，弹幕

参考例句：

• The attack jumped off under cover of a barrage.进攻在炮火的掩护下开始了。
• The fierce artillery barrage destroyed the most part of the city in a few minutes.猛烈的炮火几分钟内便毁灭了这座城市的大部分地区。

2 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

3 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

4 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

5 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

6 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

7 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

8 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

9 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

11 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

12 propped   

支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sat propped up in the bed by pillows. 他靠着枕头坐在床上。
• This fence should be propped up. 这栅栏该用东西支一支。

13 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

14 holders   

支持物( holder的名词复数 )； 持有者； （支票等）持有人； 支托（或握持）…之物

参考例句：

• Slaves were mercilessly ground down by slave holders. 奴隶受奴隶主的残酷压迫。
• It is recognition of compassion's part that leads the up-holders of capital punishment to accuse the abolitionists of sentimentality in being more sorry for the murderer than for his victim. 正是对怜悯的作用有了认识，才使得死刑的提倡者指控主张废除死刑的人感情用事，同情谋杀犯胜过同情受害者。

15 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

16 overdraft   

n.透支，透支额

参考例句：

• Her bank warned that unless she repaid the overdraft she could face legal action.银行警告她如果不偿还透支钱款，她将面临诉讼。
• An overdraft results when a note discounted at a bank is not met when due.银行贴现的支票到期而未能支付就成为透支。

17 scapegoats   

n.代人受过的人，替罪羊( scapegoat的名词复数 )v.使成为替罪羊( scapegoat的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They were made the scapegoats for the misfire of the program. 他们成了那个计划失败的替罪羊。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Only some of the guards and a minor hotel employee, chosen as scapegoats, were imprisoned. 只有一些保镖和那个旅馆的小职员当了替罪羊，被关进了监狱。 来自辞典例句

18 vaguely   

adv.含糊地，暖昧地

参考例句：

• He had talked vaguely of going to work abroad.他含糊其词地说了到国外工作的事。
• He looked vaguely before him with unseeing eyes.他迷迷糊糊的望着前面，对一切都视而不见。

19 suite   

n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员

参考例句：

• She has a suite of rooms in the hotel.她在那家旅馆有一套房间。
• That is a nice suite of furniture.那套家具很不错。