Wells Fargo & Company

What does Wells Fargo do?
Wells Fargo provides retail banking (checking, savings, mortgages, credit cards), commercial banking (business loans, treasury management), corporate and investment banking, and wealth management services. The company operates approximately 4,500 retail branches across the United States and serves tens of millions of consumer and business customers.

Is Wells Fargo publicly traded?
Yes, Wells Fargo & Company trades on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol WFC. The company has no controlling shareholder, with ownership distributed among institutional investors. Berkshire Hathaway was historically a major shareholder but has significantly reduced its position.

What is Wells Fargo's annual revenue?
In FY2024, Wells Fargo reported net interest income of approximately $47.7 billion and net income of approximately $19.7 billion. Total revenue (net interest income plus non-interest income) was approximately $77-78 billion.

Who founded Wells Fargo?
Wells Fargo was founded on March 18, 1852, by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo in New York City. Both founders had previously co-founded American Express in 1850. The company was established to provide banking and express delivery services to California during the Gold Rush.

What was the Wells Fargo fake accounts scandal?
In September 2016, Wells Fargo was fined $185 million for creating approximately 2 million unauthorized bank and credit card accounts in customers' names without their knowledge. The scandal resulted in CEO John Stumpf's resignation, a $3 billion DOJ/SEC settlement in 2020, and the Federal Reserve imposing an asset cap that limits Wells Fargo's total assets to approximately $1.95 trillion.

What is the Wells Fargo asset cap?
In February 2018, the Federal Reserve imposed an asset cap on Wells Fargo limiting its total assets to approximately $1.95 trillion as a consequence of the fake accounts scandal. The cap has been in place for more than six years and constrains Wells Fargo's ability to grow its balance sheet. The cap will remain until the Fed is satisfied that Wells Fargo has sufficiently improved its risk management and governance.

Wells Fargo was founded on March 18, 1852, by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo in New York City. Both founders had previously co-founded American Express in 1850. Wells Fargo was established to provide banking and express delivery services to California, which was experiencing a gold rush that had dramatically increased economic activity and the need for financial services on the West Coast.

The company established banking offices and express routes throughout California and the American West, becoming synonymous with the frontier economy. Wells Fargo's stagecoach service, which transported gold, currency, and mail across the West, became one of the most iconic symbols of the American frontier era.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Wells Fargo expanded its banking operations as the express business declined. The company merged with Nevada National Bank in 1905 and continued to grow its California banking presence. Wells Fargo became one of the leading banks in the western United States through the mid-20th century.

The modern Wells Fargo was largely shaped by a series of major acquisitions. In 1996, Wells Fargo acquired First Interstate Bancorp for approximately $11.6 billion, significantly expanding its branch network. In 1998, Norwest Corporation, a Minneapolis-based bank holding company, acquired Wells Fargo and adopted the Wells Fargo name, moving the combined company's headquarters to San Francisco. Norwest's CEO, Dick Kovacevich, became CEO of the combined company.

The most transformative acquisition came in 2008, when Wells Fargo acquired Wachovia Corporation for approximately $15.1 billion during the financial crisis. Wachovia was one of the largest banks in the United States and had been severely weakened by losses on mortgage-related securities. The acquisition made Wells Fargo one of the largest banks in the country by deposits and branches, with a truly national retail banking presence for the first time.

Wells Fargo emerged from the 2008 financial crisis in relatively strong condition compared to peers, having avoided some of the worst excesses of the subprime mortgage market. The company received $25 billion in TARP funds from the U.S. government in October 2008 and repaid them in December 2009.

In September 2016, Wells Fargo was fined $185 million by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the City and County of Los Angeles for creating approximately 2 million unauthorized bank and credit card accounts in customers' names without their knowledge or consent. The scandal, which became known as the "fake accounts" scandal, resulted in the resignation of CEO John Stumpf and caused severe reputational damage to the company.

The fallout from the fake accounts scandal continued for years. In February 2018, the Federal Reserve imposed an unprecedented asset cap on Wells Fargo, limiting the company's total assets to approximately $1.95 trillion until the Fed was satisfied that the company had sufficiently improved its risk management and governance. In 2020, Wells Fargo agreed to pay $3 billion to the U.S. Department of Justice and the SEC to resolve criminal and civil investigations related to the fake accounts scandal.

Charlie Scharf became CEO in October 2019, succeeding Tim Sloan. Scharf, who had previously served as CEO of Visa and Bank of New York Mellon, has focused on improving Wells Fargo's risk management and control infrastructure, reducing costs, and investing in the company's digital capabilities.

In FY2024, Wells Fargo reported net income of approximately $19.7 billion and continued to make progress on satisfying the Federal Reserve's requirements for lifting the asset cap.