Timothy Sloan was appointed to CFO at Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) last month, and the board no doubt hopes he can put a rest to all the speculation surrounding the surprising resignation of former CFO Howard Atkins. Recall he stepped down for undisclosed personal reasons that led to a lot of guesswork about the company's financial position--as it always does when a CFO makes such a move--and some criticism of the board for mishandling the situation.

The company is busy positioning Sloan as the ideal person for the job, someone who can make analysts, shareholders and corporate governance types forget all about the previous episode.

Bloomberg weighs in with a profile, noting that Sloan, who most recently served as chief administrative officer, made his bones in part because of his role in the decision to take a pass on buying Wachovia in late September, only to famously engineer a better deal a bit later, beating out Citigoup. Given his career-long savvy with deals, some think the bank may be primed for more.

In any case, as of now, some see the long-time employee as a natural candidate for the CEO job someday--assuming he can navigate the bank through this current turbulence. The fact that the bank will soon hike dividends may give Sloan a bit of early wind beneath his sail.

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