wellsfargo.com

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified financial services company in the United States with operations around the world. Wells Fargo is the 4th largest bank in the US by assets and the 3rd largest bank by market cap. It is the only bank in the United States to be rated AAA by S&P.

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Wells Fargo is a result of an acquisition of California-based Wells Fargo & Co. by Minneapolis-based Norwest Corporation in 1998.The new company chose to keep the name Wells Fargo, to capitalize on the long history of the nationally-recognized Wells Fargo name and its trademark stagecoach (the company's slogan, "The Next Stage," is a nod to the company's wagons-west motif). After the acquisition, the parent company moved its headquarters to San Francisco.

As of 2008, Wells Fargo has 5,983 retail branches, 160,900 employees and over 23 million customers.

Wells Fargo & Co.
Type	Public (NYSE: WFC)
Founded	New York, New York, USA (March 18, 1852)
Headquarters	San Francisco, California
Key people	Richard Kovacevich, Chairman John Stumpf, President and CEO
Products	Retail Banking Insurance Payday advance Mortgages Consumer Finance Corporate and Investment Banking
Revenue	▲US $39.390 billion (2007)
Net income	▲$8.057 billion USD (2007)
Total assets	$575.44 billion (2007)
Employees	160,900 (2008)
Website	www.wellsfargo.com

Employment

Wells Fargo interview candidates report the interview process includes a phone interview, 1:1 interview, and a group/panel interview with a background check.  Candidates indicated an "Average" interview difficulty rating (3.0 out of 5) with over 90% having a "Positive" or "Neutral" interview experience.

With over 160,000 employees, Wells Fargo employs a wide range of financial services and information technology positions.  Wells Fargo salary and compensation structures vary greatly by job role.  Below are pay and salary details for some common jobs within Wells Fargo:

• Wells Fargo Teller pay - $10.79/hr (Average, USD)
• Wells Fargo Personal Banker salary - $36,144 (Average, USD)
• Wells Fargo Business Relationship Manager salary - $64,873 (Average, USD)
• Wells Fargo Financial Analyst salary - $60,082 (Average, USD)
• Wells Fargo Project Manager salary - $72,400 (Average, USD)

Lines of business

Wells Fargo offers a range of financial services in over 80 different business lines. Cade Stark recently announced that he will be leading Wells Fargo Financial to a new place....Mars. He claims that banking and lending on Mars will vastly increase profits and help the U.S. economy. Only in time will we see how much of a true genius this man really is. Some people are claiming that he stole this idea from a good friend of his, Brian Wolf. Both men are considered to be top ten smarted and best looking men in North America. Although Brian is clearly the better of the two men. With his witty charm and boyish good looks he can't be beat. Someday these men could have the greatest impact on mankind. Only time will tell.

In addition, the company claims to be one of the most "integrated" of financial services companies. For example, Wells Fargo investment employees sit in retail locations.

Wells Fargo delineates three different business segments when reporting results: Retail Banking, Wholesale Banking, and Consumer Finance. This is unlike many other financial services companies which provide more detail about particular businesses or product lines.

Community banking

The Community Banking segment includes Regional Banking, Wealth Management Group, Diversified Products and the Consumer Deposits groups. Wells Fargo consumer clients are encouraged to purchase multiple-product packages offering preferred client discounts. Examples of such packages are:

• "Wells Fargo Premium Membership Account" tied to payroll direct deposit from a participating employer;
• "Wells Fargo Complete Advantage Account" tied to balances in multiple deposit accounts, loans, or a home mortgage;
• "Wells Fargo Portfolio Management Account" tied to balances in brokerage accounts, IRAs, deposits, and loans.

Wells Fargo also has around 9,400 stand alone mortgage branches throughout the country. It also does mortgage wholesale lending through independent mortgage brokers.

Internet services

Wells Fargo launched its PC banking service in 1989 and was the first bank to introduce access to banking accounts on the web in May 1995. Using Wells Fargo's Online Banking, consumers can pay bills to anyone in the U.S., trade securities, view their account information, and transfer money between their Wells Fargo accounts or to other Wells Fargo account holders. In addition to banking and trading online, the online service lets customers apply for new accounts and products, find the nearest ATM or store/branch, change their address, view canceled checks, deposits and statements, enroll in account alerts, track their spending habits through Wells Fargo's "My Spending Report" and set and track savings goals with "My Savings Plan". To protect customers from fraud, Wells Fargo introduced e-mail sent to your online banking or personal e-mail and send wireless alerts if high-risk transactions are detected.

Wells Fargo's Business Online Banking gives small business owners all the services available to consumers, plus access to reporting tools and services to help them manage their business finances. New offerings, such as account-based alerts, check images, spending reports, delegation, and payment suite functionality have been designed specifically for businesses.

Wells Fargo has also released a virtual community called "Stagecoach Island" This online community appears to be very similar to the wildly popular "Second Life" produced by Linden Lab; however no mention of Second Life is made on the Stagecoach island website.

Wells also offers mobile access to your checking account, credit card, home equity line, and more.

The new Wells Fargo vSafe service offers secure online storage for you to safeguard, organize, and access electronic copies of important documents—from birth certificates and immunization records to wills and treasured photos.

Wholesale

The Wholesale Banking segment contains products sold to large and middle market commercial companies, as well as to consumers on a wholesale basis. This includes lending, treasury management, mutual funds, asset-based lending, commercial real estate,corporate and institutional trust services, and investment banking through Wells Fargo Securities. Wells Fargo historically has avoided large corporate loans as stand-alone products, instead requiring that borrowers purchase other products along with loans-- which the bank sees as a loss leader. One area that is very profitable to Wells, however, is asset-based lending: lending to large companies using assets as collateral that are not normally used in other loans. This can be compared to subprime lending, but on a corporate level. The main brand name for this activity is "Wells Fargo Foothill," and is regularly marketed in tombstone ads in the Wall Street Journal. Wells Fargo also owns Eastdil Secured, which is described as a "real estate investment bank" but is essentially one of the largest commercial real estate brokers for very large transactions (such as the purchase and sale of large Class-A office buildings in central business districts throughout the United States).

Consumer finance

Wells Fargo Financial is the consumer finance segment. It engages in lending through over 1,000 branches throughout the U.S. and in certain other countries. This division also engages in "indirect lending" for such organizations as furniture retailers. This business is based out of Des Moines, Iowa. Norwest purchased DIAL Finance before its acquisition with Wells Fargo. The Home Mortgage group is based out of West Des Moines, Iowa. Wells Fargo Financial's core product is sub-prime mortgage lending. Other products include auto secured lending, personal lines of credit and unsecured credit cards. Team members generate sales by telephone solicitaion of current Wells Fargo Financial customers using the company developed program "ELeads".

Environmental Record

Wells Fargo has received awards for environment in Green Power Leadership Club, Partner of the Year 2007 and is in the top 25 of Green Power Partnership. In line with its commitment to the environment, Wells Fargo purchases renewable energy certificates (RECs) to support the generation of 550 million kilowatt-hours of clean, renewable wind energy per year. “This commitment reflects the desire of our team members to do what’s right for our customers, our communities, and our company. By purchasing RECs we are advancing our efforts to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions while doing our part to encourage the development of new renewable energy sources,” said Mary Wenzel, Vice President of Environmental Affairs. Through its green power purchase, Wells Fargo is helping to address important business and societal issues such as rising energy costs, poor air quality and climate change and taking steps toward achieving its goal of integrating environmental responsibility throughout the Company’s business practices and operations. Wells Fargo has also announced a ten-point environmental commitment to more effectively integrate environmental responsibility into its business practices and procedures.

Business model

 

States that have Wells Fargo retail banks.

The present business model of Wells Fargo is summed up in its vision statement: "We want to satisfy all of our customers' financial needs, help them succeed financially, be the premier provider of financial services in every one of our markets, and be known as one of America's great companies."

Wells Fargo's goal is to encourage its customers to buy all their financial products through Wells Fargo: "We want to earn 100 percent of our customers' business. The more products customers have with Wells Fargo the better deal they get, the more loyal they are, and the longer they stay with the company, improving retention. Eighty percent of our revenue growth comes from selling more products to existing customers. Our goal: sell at least eight products to every customer."

This is a concept known as "cross-selling," or as Wells Fargo refers to it, "needs-based selling," which is popular in the financial services industry. While earlier companies, such as Prudential, pioneered the concept of selling a variety of products, they acted merely as holding companies and each product was sold through its own distribution channel. However, predecessor Norwest pioneered selling all its products through all its channels, with discounts given to those who purchase a larger variety.

The average "cross-sell ratio" for a financial institution is two (based on an average American consumer owning sixteen different financial products from eight different institutions). Wells Fargo purports to have a cross-sell ratio of 5.5 (2007 data) products per Community Banking household (almost one in five have more than eight), 6.1 (2007 data) for Wholesale Banking customers, and the average middle-market commercial banking customer has more than seven products, which is among the highest in the country.^[(Washington Mutual was beating them at the end of 2003 with a 5.59 ratio.) Achieving such a high cross-sell ratio would result in a financial services version of the "agglomerator" business model, most popular among the big-box retailers, such as Home Depot, Office Depot, and Wal-Mart. In order to facilitate achievement of this goal, Wells Fargo lobbied hard for deregulation of the banking industry, and for repeal of many of the laws that were passed during the Great Depression like the Glass-Steagall Act.

Wells Fargo corporate buildings

 

Wells Fargo Center in Los Angeles

• Wells Fargo Center in Los Angeles, California
• Wells Fargo Place in Saint Paul, MN
• Wells Fargo Center in Minneapolis, MN
• Wells Fargo Center in Denver, CO
• Wells Fargo Center in West Des Moines, IA
• Wells Fargo Plaza in Houston, TX
• Wells Fargo Plaza in Phoenix, Arizona
• Wells Fargo Center in Portland, OR
• Wells Fargo Center in Salt Lake City, UT
• Wells Fargo Center in Sacramento, CA
• Wells Fargo Headquarters in San Francisco, CA
• Wells Fargo Plaza in El Paso, TX
• Wells Fargo Center in Albuquerque, NM
• Wells Fargo Tower in Colorado Springs, CO
• Wells Fargo Center in Seattle, WA
• Wells Fargo Center in Boise, ID

History

Main article: History of Wells Fargo

Key dates

• 1852: Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, the two founders of American Express, form Wells, Fargo & Company to provide express and banking services to California.
• 1860: Wells Fargo gains control of Butterfield Overland Mail Company, leading to operation of the western portion of the Pony Express.
• 1866: 'Grand consolidation' unites Wells Fargo, Holladay, and Overland Mail stage lines under the Wells Fargo name.
• 1904: A.P. Giannini creates the Bank of Italy in San Francisco.
• 1905: Wells Fargo separates its banking and express operations; Wells Fargo's bank is merged with the Nevada National Bank to form the Wells Fargo Nevada National Bank.
• 1918: As a wartime measure, the U.S. government nationalizes Wells Fargo's franchise into a government agency known as the American Railway Express Agency. The government takes control of everything except the bank. The bank begins rebuilding but with a focus on commercial markets.
• 1923: Wells Fargo Nevada merges with the Union Trust Company to form the Wells Fargo Bank & Union Trust Company.
• 1928: Giannini forms Transamerica Corporation as a holding company for his banking and other interests.
• 1929: Northwest Bancorporation, or Banco, is formed as a banking association.
• 1954: Wells shortens its name to Wells Fargo Bank.
• 1957: Transamerica spins off its banking operations, including 23 banks in 11 western states, as Firstamerica Corporation.
• 1960: Wells Fargo merges with American Trust Company to form the Wells Fargo Bank American Trust Company.
• 1961: Firstamerica changes its name to Western Bancorporation.
• 1962: Wells again shortens its name to Wells Fargo Bank.
• 1968: Wells converts to a federal banking charter, becoming Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
• 1969: Wells Fargo & Company holding company is formed, with Wells Fargo Bank as its main subsidiary.
• 1981: Western Bancorporation changes its name to First Interstate Bancorp.
• 1982: Banco acquires consumer finance firm Dial Finance which is renamed Norwest Financial Service the following year.
• 1983: Banco is renamed Norwest Corporation.
• 1983: Largest U.S. bank heist to date takes place at a Wells Fargo depot in West Hartford, Connecticut.
• 1986: Wells Fargo acquires Crocker National Corporation from Midland Bank.
• 1987: Wells Fargo acquires the personal trust business of Bank of America.
• 1988: Wells Fargo acquires Barclays Bank of California from Barclays plc.
• 1995: Wells Fargo becomes the first major financial services firm to offer Internet banking.
• 1996: Wells Fargo acquires First Interstate for $17.3 billion.
• 1998: Wells Fargo Bank merges with Norwest Corp. of Minnesota and adopts the Wells Fargo name.
• 2000: Wells Fargo acquires First Security Corporation.
• 2007: Wells Fargo acquires CIT Construction
• 2008: Wells Fargo agrees to acquire Century Bank thereby making Arkansas its 24th community banking state.

Corporate predecessors

Wells Fargo & Company is an agglomeration of more than 2,000 mergers. The holding company was previously known as Norwest Corporation and before that as Northwestern National Bank (BANCO). Norwest was "one of the most acquisitive banks of the 1990s...." Most of the management and the business model of the present day Wells Fargo come from Norwest Bank, and the stock history of Wells Fargo is that of Norwest.

Selected predecessor companies

• Crocker National Bank
• First Interstate Bancorp
• Norwest Corporation

Recent controversies

 

A Wells Fargo branch in Logan, Utah

Like many large-scale companies, Wells Fargo has attracted many vocal detractors who protest their business practices, customer service, fee levels, and other aspects of the company. There is even a Wells Fargo Watch project dedicated to tracking all alleged instances of corporate malfeasance, especially ongoing investigations into alleged predatory lending practices in Wells' mortgage division.

In September 2003, New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer sought information about the lending practices of Wells Fargo and other national banks. Two suits seeking injunctive relief were filed against Spitzer, one by the Office of the Comptroller of Currency and one by the Clearinghouse association of banks, asserting that Spitzer had no authority to regulate the activities of national banks. The suits both resulted in the granting of injunctive relief preventing the continuation of Spitzer's efforts to obtain bank information, including Wells Fargo information.

In December 2005, the parachurch group Focus on the Family ended its banking relationship with Wells Fargo. This was due to Wells Fargo's support of the gay rights movement when the company announced that it was matching contributions to GLAAD. Wells Fargo continued the program and received widespread support in the face of the boycott, which had no other high-profile participants.

The relationship between the bank's Board of Directors and its shareholders has at times been contentious. The Board of Directors has recommended voting against every single shareholder proposal since 2002.  Many of these proposals were warnings to the company, heeding them to stop predatory lending and other controversial practices.

This article uses content from wikipedia.org