Financial: Wells Fargo
Ticker Symbol: WFC
Wells Fargo Website
About the company
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Wells Fargo & Co. is a diversified financial services company, primarily operating in the retail banking, wholesale banking, and consumer finance segments. In the wake of troubles at some of the largest U.S. financial institutions, Wells Fargo is now the 2nd largest bank in the U.S. in terms of market behind JPMorgan Chase.
The bank’s founding dates back to 1852 when Henry Wells and Willam G. Fargo formed Wells Fargo & Company. In 1905, Wells Fargo merged with the Nevada National Bank. In 1923, Wells merged with the Union Trust Company, forming the banner Wells Fargo Bank & Union Trust Company. In 1960, Wells merged with the American Trust Company. Wells converted to a federal banking charter, becoming Wells Fargo Bank.
The 1998 merger of the original Wells Fargo and Norwest Corporation formed the foundation of the Wells Fargo brand as it exists today. Predecessor companies of Wells Fargo include Norwest, Crocker National Bank, First Interstate Bancorp, and Wachovia. On October 3, 2008, Wells purchased the assets of Wachovia for roughly 14.8 billion in stock.
On October 28th, the U.S. Treasury injected $25 billion into Wells Fargo as part of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act.
Wells Fargo operates roughly 6,650 retail branches, employs about 275,000, and has more than 48 million customers.
Wells Fargo's Competitors:
- Tier 1 Competitors: Bank of America Corporation (BAC), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Citigroup (C), U.S. Bancorp (USB), SunTrust Banks (STI), PNC Financial Services (PNC)
- Tier 2 Competitors: Morgan Stanley (MS), Goldman Sachs (GS), Zions Bancorporation (ZION), Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB)
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Wells Fargo
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