That progress came too slowly for Buffett. His pullback from the bank started in 2017, a year after the scandals began erupting, and then accelerated during the pandemic. The reduction probably reflects Berkshire rethinking its bank exposure amid Covid-19’s fallout, and a shift toward Bank of America, in part because of frustration with the pace of Wells Fargo’s cleanup, said David Kass, a professor of finance at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.

Buffett has “very high ethical standards” when it comes to stock picks, Kass said.

Generally, Buffett “likes financials, he likes banking, he understands it well,” Kass said. “And he switched his allegiance, in terms of an investment perspective, to Bank of America.”