49 Facts About Wells Fargo

1.

Wells Fargo has operations in 35 countries with over 70 million customers globally.

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2.

Wells Fargo became a coast-to-coast bank with the 2008 acquisition of Charlotte-based Wachovia.

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3.

Wells Fargo is ranked 41st on the Fortune 500 list of the largest companies in the US.

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4.

Wells Fargo has been the subject of several investigations by regulators.

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5.

On February 2, 2018, account fraud by the bank resulted in the Federal Reserve barring Wells Fargo from growing its nearly $2 trillion-asset base any further until the company fixed its internal problems to the satisfaction of the Federal Reserve.

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6.

Wells Fargo then operated the western portion of the Pony Express.

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7.

In 1991, Wells Fargo spent $491 million to acquire 130 branches in California from Great American Bank.

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8.

Wells Fargo became the first major US financial services firm to offer Internet banking, in May 1995.

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9.

In 2008, Wells Fargo acquired United Bancorporation of Wyoming and Century Bancshares of Texas.

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10.

Citigroup and Wells Fargo then entered into negotiations brokered by the FDIC to reach an amicable solution to the impasse.

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11.

On October 28, 2008, Wells Fargo received $25 billion of funds via the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act in the form of a preferred stock purchase by the United States Department of the Treasury.

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12.

On December 23, 2009, Wells Fargo redeemed $25 billion of preferred stock issued to the United States Department of the Treasury.

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13.

In 2015, Wells Fargo Rail acquired GE Capital Rail Services and merged in with First Union Rail.

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14.

In late 2015, Wells Fargo acquired three GE units focused on business loans equipment financing.

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15.

In March 2017, Wells Fargo announced a plan to offer smartphone-based transactions with mobile wallets including Wells Fargo Wallet, Android Pay and Samsung Pay.

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16.

In June 2018, Wells Fargo sold all 52 of its physical bank branch locations in Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio to Flagstar Bank.

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17.

In September 2018, Wells Fargo announced it would cut 26, 450 jobs by 2020 to reduce costs by $4 billion.

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18.

In 2009, Wells Fargo ranked 1st among banks and insurance companies, and 13th overall, in Newsweek Magazine's inaugural "Green Rankings" of the country's 500 largest companies.

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19.

In 2017, Wells Fargo ranked 182nd out of 500 in Newsweek Magazine's "Green Rankings" of the largest US companies;.

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20.

Wells Fargo has provided more than $10 billion in financing for environmentally beneficial business opportunities, including supporting commercial-scale solar photovoltaic projects and utility-scale wind projects nationwide.

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21.

In 2010, Wells Fargo launched what it believes to be the first blog in its industry to report on its environmental stewardship and to solicit feedback and ideas from its stakeholders.

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22.

Wells Fargo previously operated other museums but those have since closed.

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23.

Wells Fargo has around 2, 000 stand-alone mortgage branches throughout the country.

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24.

Wells Fargo has various divisions, including Wells Fargo Rail, that finance and lease equipment to different types of companies.

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25.

Wells Fargo serves high-net-worth individuals through its private bank and family wealth group.

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26.

Wells Fargo Advisors is the brokerage subsidiary of Wells Fargo, located in St Louis, Missouri.

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27.

Wells Fargo Advisors was known as Wachovia Securities until May 1, 2009, when it was renamed following Wells Fargo's acquisition of Wachovia Corporation.

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28.

Wells Fargo Securities was established in 2009 after the acquisition of Wachovia Securities.

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29.

Wells Fargo has banking services throughout the world, with overseas offices in Hong Kong, London, Dubai, Singapore, Tokyo, and Toronto.

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30.

Wells Fargo mortgage had an emerging-markets unit that specifically targeted black churches because it figured church leaders had a lot of influence and could convince congregants to take out subprime loans.

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31.

Wells Fargo agreed to pay $125 million to subprime borrowers and $50 million in direct down payment assistance in certain areas, for a total of $175 million.

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32.

Elizabeth Magner, a federal bankruptcy judge in the Eastern District of Louisiana, cited the bank's behavior as "highly reprehensible", stating that Wells Fargo has taken advantage of borrowers who rely on the bank's accurate calculations.

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33.

In May 2013, New York attorney-general Eric Schneiderman announced a lawsuit against Wells Fargo over alleged violations of the national mortgage settlement.

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34.

Schneidermann claimed Wells Fargo had violated rules over giving fair and timely serving.

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35.

In October 2012, Wells Fargo was sued by United States Attorney Preet Bharara over questionable mortgage deals.

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36.

In May 2013, Wells Fargo paid $203 million to settle class-action litigation accusing the bank of imposing excessive overdraft fees on checking-account customers.

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37.

In February 2015, Wells Fargo agreed to pay $4 million, including a $2 million penalty and $2 million in restitution for illegally taking an interest in the homes of borrowers in exchange for opening credit card accounts for the homeowners.

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38.

Wells Fargo agreed to provide jobs to 580 of the affected applicants.

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39.

In September 2016, Wells Fargo was issued a combined total of $185 million in fines for opening over 1.

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40.

Wells Fargo coined the phrase, "Go for Gr-Eight" – or, in other words, aim to sell at least 8 products to every customer.

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41.

In 2020, Wells Fargo sold $100 million in assets to stay under the limit.

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42.

In November 2016, Wells Fargo agreed to pay $50 million to settle allegations of overcharging hundreds of thousands of homeowners for appraisals ordered after they defaulted on their mortgage loans.

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43.

Wells Fargo is a lender on the Dakota Access Pipeline, a 1, 172-mile-long underground oil pipeline transport system in North Dakota.

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44.

From December 2012 through February 2018, Wells Fargo reportedly helped two of the biggest firearms and ammunition companies obtain $431.

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45.

Wells Fargo had previously been investigating reports of gender bias in the division in the months leading up to the meeting.

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46.

On June 10, 2019, Wells Fargo agreed to pay $385 million to settle a lawsuit accusing it of allegedly scamming millions of auto-loan customers into buying insurance they did not need from National General Insurance.

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47.

In October 2014, a Wells Fargo employee earning $15 per hour emailed the CEO—copying 200, 000 other employees—asking that all employees be given a $10, 000 per year raise taken from a portion of annual corporate profits to address wage stagnation and income inequality.

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48.

Wells Fargo is shown as the delivery service bringing the instruments for the town band in the 1962 film The Music Man.

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49.

On March 2, 2022, Wells Fargo announced $1 mil donation to the American Red Cross that will be used for Ukrainian refugees fleeing from the Russian invasion.

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