Wells Company. Everything you need to know about the Wells Fargo scandal. What will happen next

The name Wells Fargo is commonly associated with the image of a six-horse, gold-laden stagecoach speeding across the American West.

The complete history of the company, spanning over 160 years of successful service, is rich in detail and connected with the great events of American history. From the Gold Rush of the mid-19th century to the online banking marketplaces of the 21st century, through prosperity, depression and war to global fame - all these years, Wells Fargo has earned a high reputation through attention and loyalty to its clients, becoming the world's largest bank by capitalization.

In 1852, Henry Wells and William Fargo founded Wells, Fargo & Co. The new company offered banking (buying gold and selling bank checks) and express (fast delivery of gold and anything else valuable).

Wells Fargo expedited business wherever possible, using stagecoaches, steamboats, ponies, and the telegraph, working efficiently, reliably, and quickly. In 1866, Wells Fargo combined all major Western lines of communication. The stagecoaches took on the Wells, Fargo & Co name, covering more than 3,000 miles of territory, from California to Nebraska, and from Colorado to the gold mining regions of Montana and Idaho.

After the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, Wells Fargo increased its share of rail transportation. In 1888, with the expansion of steel service from the Northeast to New York, Wells Fargo became the nation's first nationwide mail carrier. The slogan chosen was “Ocean to Ocean!” to describe the service linking 2,500 locations and 25 states, and “Across the Seas!” to highlight the network linking America to the global economy.

In 1905, Wells Fargo & Co's Bank, San Francisco (the bank) formally separated from Wells Fargo & Co Express (the postal service). The bank survived the disaster of 1906, when San Francisco was rocked by an earthquake and the entire city was on fire, and gradually began to expand its network throughout the country.

In 1918 Wells Fargo had ten thousand locations throughout the states. That same year, the federal government nationalized the company's postal network, which was needed for government purposes in World War I. Wells Fargo was left with only one bank in San Francisco.

During the prosperity of the 1960s, Wells Fargo became a northern California regional bank with a large network of offices.

In the 1980s, Wells Fargo became an all-American and seventh-largest national bank by launching its online customer service.

Reasons for success

Experts note the essential reasons determining the success of the American banking giant:

1. Diversification of financial services provided, active use of modern technologies.
2. Successfully working cross-selling technique. The bank knows how to sell products to its customers, and is constantly expanding the range of its offer for regular customers, so that the latter buy more and more from it.
3. Quality service to our clients. The client must be satisfied not only with the quality of the products themselves, but also with the level and quality of the seller’s work.
4. Stable experience over more than 160 years of activity helps the bank maintain an excellent reputation in various business circles.

Well Fargo is a huge financial structure that accumulates all the world's experience in conducting financial banking operations. Reliability, speed of work, the innovative nature of the company and its great history make the American banking giant one of the leaders in the world financial markets.

There's a tsunami of bad news at Wells Fargo. After reports surfaced that bank employees were improperly opening accounts for customers since 2011, problems have snowballed. Added to Thursday's fine and mass layoffs were questions about things like executive compensation and questions about the bank's debt.

Where it all started

The catalyst for all the bad news was the announcement of fraudulent accounts being opened on behalf of clients.

Since 2011, Wells Fargo employees have opened 2 million bank accounts and credit cards on behalf of customers without their knowledge. The goal was to generate commissions for the company and enable employees to meet an aggressive sales target. As a result of the investigation, the bank received charges of illegal account opening from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Los Angeles District Attorney. Last Thursday, September 8, the bank was fined $185 million. In addition, due to illegal opening of accounts, 5,300 employees were fired - about 1% of Wells Fargo's staff.

Consequences

Since the fine was announced, Wells Fargo has faced not only financial fallout, but also public disaster.

On Monday, September 12, five US senators, members of the US Senate Banking Committee, wrote a letter to committee chairman Richard Shelby asking for an investigation and hearing on this issue.

The letter says:

“The scale of the situation deserves a thorough and comprehensive investigation. As members of the relevant Senate committee, we must take urgent action to fully investigate the causes, scope and consequences of this event, and consider implementing lessons learned."

The Senate hearing is set for Sept. 20, and according to Compass Point policy research director Isaac Boltyansky, it will likely be reminiscent of the 2013 “London Whale” hearings, when senators grilled top executives at JP Morgan. He says:

“We imagine that Senate questioning—particularly from Senators Brown (Ohio), Warren (Mass.), and Merkley (Oregon)—will focus on developing the concept that either Wells Fargo's size makes it unmanageable or its management was deliberately involved in fraud.”

Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who signed Shelby's letter, told CNN that Wells Fargo had committed a "staggering fraud." Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton called opening accounts without customers' knowledge "outrageous behavior."

"We expect this incriminating episode to immediately damage Wells Fargo's reputation."

On Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew told CNBC that he believes Wells Fargo behaved inappropriately and the allegations show that banking regulation should not be rolled back. Lew stated:

“I can tell you that there is a lot of talk in Washington these days about repealing or changing the Dodd-Frank Act, which created the agency that discovered this (fraud) and took action against it. At this point, people need to stop and remember how dangerous the system is if you don't have proper protection."

Wells Fargo's response

In addition to the fine, Wells Fargo said it would eliminate sales targets for retail division employees because the pressure to meet account-opening and commission-earning targets caused employees to bend rules and open accounts inappropriately.

The bank's statement quoted CEO John Stumpf as saying:

“We are removing sales targets because we want to reassure clients that our retail bankers are always focused on the client's interests.”

Even so, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, Stumpf said Wells Fargo had "no incentive to do wrong" and placed the blame on employees rather than the company's culture.

Speaking at the Global Financial Services Conference hosted by Barclays, Wells Fargo CFO John Shrewsberry said the fraudulent accounts were not opened to generate revenue for the bank. Several employees have discovered them to improve their productivity. According to him, these were employees with poor performance who were probably trying to gain a foothold in the workplace in such an unsuccessful way.

$125 million

Another source of ire from lawmakers and experts is the $125 million pension payout that Wells Fargo Chief Executive Carrie Tolsted will receive upon her retirement at the end of the year.

Tolsted heads the banking division, which partly oversees retail and credit card transactions and is responsible for the account situation.

She is scheduled to retire at the end of the year and will receive bank stock and other compensation totaling $125 million.

The retirement is unrelated to the investigation, according to Wells Fargo. Tolsted announced her departure in July. In addition, the amount of compensation payments is usually determined in advance.

However, in the midst of a public scandal, this is yet another headache for the bank.

What will happen next

Wells Fargo (NYSE: Wells Fargo & Company) shares fell just 6% to $3 per share on the news. The Senate investigation is still looming, and the public scandal will undermine the company. However, minus expenses fine, it is unclear how exactly the events of last week will affect Wells Fargo's position.

Until now, they haven't meant too much - at least according to the company itself. According to Shrewsberry, the scandal over the accounts had little effect on the behavior of customers, but time will tell whether they will remain calm in the future.

Wells Fargo (English: Wells Fargo) is a banking company providing diversified financial and insurance services in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, included in the Fortune 1000 ranking. Wells Fargo, the fourth largest bank in the United States, is one of the so-called "Big Four" " of US banks along with its main competitors - Bank of America, Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase. Wells Fargo's largest shareholder is Warren Buffett (controls about 6.5% of shares).

The company is based in San Francisco, while the banking division is headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Wells Fargo was formed as a result of the merger of Californian company Wells Fargo & Co. and Norwest, a Minneapolis company in 1998.

Wells Fargo & Company is known for its combination of banking and postal services. His story is remarkable, first of all, because it was discovered by two young men who had absolutely nothing to do with banking. It all started in 1841. Henry Wells, a postal agent from New York, decided to open a postal company and hired young William Fargo, who at that time was working as an assistant in a Syracuse trading post. The company was opened in 1844, it was called Well & CO, by which time the honest and hardworking Fargo had won Wells’s trust so much that he was offered a small percentage in the newly created enterprise, whose services included the delivery of gold and other valuables.

Naturally, as in any endeavor, there were problems and downfalls. So in 1849, Well & CO had a tough competitor in the form of the Wasson & Company organization, but the conflict was resolved quite peacefully, thanks to the diplomatic abilities of the wise Henry Wells, and this despite the fact that in those days everything was decided by force. Wells managed to negotiate in such a brilliant way that it all ended with the merger of the enterprises of competing firms into one organization called American Express, which is known to this day, being a symbol of international fast transportation.

Among gold miners, Wells Fargo quickly earned trust and respect. The company sent money and cargo quickly, never overcharged its customers when buying gold, and its banknotes began to be valued at the same level as real gold.

Wells Fargo & Company became one of the major postal systems in the United States. Wells Fargo's mail service was highly reliable. In addition, Wells Fargo & Company tried to do everything possible to ensure that mail was delivered as quickly as possible. To do this, the company used all available methods of fast delivery: railways and steamships.

Wells Fargo & Company's postal and banking business grew rapidly, fueled by the development of transportation in the United States, especially the development of Western lands. The overall growth of America's economy ensured that Wells Fargo & Company prospered over the following years. During this time, the life of the company experienced both ups (World Wars, takeover of competitors) and downs (legislative acts of the early 20th century).

In 1852, some disagreements arose in the management of the newly-minted company, so a new enterprise was created called WellsFargo & Company. The first office was opened in San Francisco the same year. Just then, passions around the gold rush were in full swing in California, and it was then that the partners came up with the brilliant idea of ​​​​providing banking services in addition to postal transportation. As a result, the organization began to engage in the purchase and sale of gold dust and bars, and deliver mail throughout America. It is interesting that Well and Fargo managed to manage without any conflicts in their activities, despite the enormous competition; moreover, all militant companies from competitors became divisions of WellsFargo, because by that time 99% of the orders belonged to them.

Over time, the company began to develop further, and a government contract was won. Later, the famous US Postal Service “Pony Express” was created, whose motto was the expression: “Mail must be delivered under any circumstances.” And whose activities were ended in 1861 due to the development of telegraph lines. And only when the US government postal service became stronger did WellsFargo begin to engage only in banking activities.

The organization's main operating branch located in the United States is Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., which is legally registered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Wells Fargo in its current form is the result of the 1998 acquisition of California-based Wells Fargo & Co. of Minneapolis-based Norwest Corporation. Although Northwest was technically an existing entity. face, the new organization was renamed Wells Fargo, capitalizing on the entire 150-year history of the nationally recognized name and its trademark.

Following the acquisition, the firm transferred its headquarters to Wells Fargo in San Francisco and consolidated its operating branches with those of Wells Fargo in Sioux Falls.

In 2010, Wells Fargo had 6,335 retail branches (called Wells Fargo stores), 12,000 ATMs, 280,000 employees and more than 70 million customers. For the second year in a row, Wells Fargo & Company has been ranked top in the Worlds Best Internet Banks ranking by Global Finance magazine. Wells Fargo is one of the Big Four banks in the United States, along with Bank of America, Citigroup Westpac and JP Morgan Chase.

Wells Fargo

(Wells Fargo)

Wells Fargo Leadership, Wells Fargo, Wells Fargo Bank Museums

History of Wells Fargo & Co, Wells Fargo Lending, Wells Fargo Mortgage Lending, Wells Fargo Consumer Finance

Wells Fargo is

Wells Fargo is a Fortune 1000 organization providing diversified financial and insurance services in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Firm is based in , while the banking division is headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Wells Fargo CEO

Wells Fargo formed as a result of the merger of the Californian organizations Wells Fargo& Co. and Norwest, a Minneapolis firm in 1998. The board of the new organization decided to keep the name Wells Fargo in order to use the well-known name of the company with a 150-year history and its famous symbol - the carriage. Wells Fargo operates 6,062 branches, serving more than 23 million customers.

The Bank uses a business model to diversify the services provided, thereby trying to satisfy the needs of clients as fully as possible. At the same time, it provides both banking and financial services, as well as insurance services. This development model is very successful for Wells Fargo: 80% of the organization's revenue growth comes from selling more services to existing customers. Citigroup Westpac also used a similar model, but later the company abandoned such a business structure. Wells Fargo offers a variety of financial services through its 80 divisions. Wells Fargo is one of the first banks who provided their clients with access to bank accounts via the Internet. Since 1995, customers can check account status, pay bills, and buy or sell securities. Wells Fargo actively lobbied for the repeal of laws passed during the Great Depression that limited the firm's expansion, in particular Glass-Steagall.

Wells Fargo History

Wells Fargo & Company is known for its combination of banking and postal services. And this is no coincidence. The history of the Wells Fargo organization began in March 1852. Wells Fargo & Company was founded by Henry Wells and William Fargo. The organization was founded during the gold rush, and its main activity was providing postal and financial services to gold miners. To finance the activities of Wells Fargo & Company investors were attracted.

Among gold miners, Wells Fargo quickly earned trust and respect. sent cargo quickly, never overcharged its clients when buying gold, and its banknotes began to be valued at the level of the present gold.

Wells Fargo & Company became one of the major postal systems USA. Wells Fargo's mail service was highly reliable. In addition, Wells Fargo & Company tried to do everything possible to ensure that mail was delivered as quickly as possible. To do this, the company used all available methods of fast delivery: railways and steamships.

Wells Fargo is

Wells Fargo & Company's postal and banking business grew rapidly, aided by the development of transportation in USA, especially the development of western lands. The overall growth of America's economy ensured that Wells Fargo & Company prospered over the following years. During this time, the life of the company experienced both ups (World Wars, takeover of competitors) and downs (legislative acts of the early 20th century).

American bank WellsFargo is widely known today in the banking and postal services industries. His story is remarkable, first of all, because it was discovered by two young men who had absolutely nothing to do with banking. It all started in 1841. Henry Wells, a postal agent from New York, decided to open a postal company and hired young William Fargo, who at that time was working as an assistant in a Syracuse trading post. was opened in 1844, it was called Well & CO, by which time the honest and hardworking Fargo had won Wells’ trust so much that he was offered a small part in the newly created enterprise, whose services were delivery gold and other valuables.

Naturally, as in any endeavor, there were problems and downfalls. So in 1849, Well & CO had a tough competitor in the form of the Wasson & Company organization, but the conflict was resolved quite peacefully, thanks to the diplomatic abilities of the wise Henry Wells, and this despite the fact that in those days everything was decided by force. Wells managed to negotiate in such a brilliant way that it all ended with the merger of the enterprises of competing firms into one organization called American Express, which is known to this day, being a symbol of international fast transportation.

In 1852, some disagreements arose in the management of the newly-minted company, so a new one was created, bearing the name WellsFargo & Company. The first office was opened in San Francisco the same year. Just then, passions around the gold rush were in full swing in California, and it was then that the partners came up with the brilliant idea of ​​​​providing banking services in addition to postal transportation. As a result, the organization began to engage in the purchase and sale of gold dust and bars, and deliver mail throughout America. It is interesting that Well and Fargo managed to manage without any conflicts in their activities, despite the enormous competition; moreover, all militant companies from competitors became divisions of WellsFargo, because by that time 99% of the orders belonged to them.

Over time, the company began to develop further, and a government contract was won. Later, the famous US Postal Service “Pony Express” was created, whose motto was the expression: “Mail must be delivered under any circumstances.” And whose activities were ended in 1861 due to the development of telegraph lines. And only when the US government postal service became stronger did WellsFargo begin to engage only in banking activities.

The organization's main operating branch located in the United States is Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., which is legally registered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Wells Fargo in its current form is the result of the 1998 acquisition of California-based Wells Fargo & Co. of Minneapolis-based Norwest Corporation. Although Northwest was technically an existing entity. face, the new organization was renamed Wells Fargo, capitalizing on the entire 150-year history of the nationally recognized name and its trademark.

Following the acquisition, the firm transferred its headquarters to Wells Fargo in San Francisco and consolidated its operating branches with those of Wells Fargo in Sioux Falls.

In 2010, Wells Fargo had 6,335 retail branches (called Wells Fargo stores), 12,000 ATMs, 280,000 employees and more than 70 million customers. For the second year in a row, Wells Fargo & Company has been ranked top in the Worlds Best Internet Banks ranking by Global Finance magazine. Wells Fargo is one of the Big Four banks in the United States, along with Bank of America, Citigroup Westpac and JP Morgan Chase.

Wells Fargo is

WELLS FARGO Bank Museum

This is the same place where H. Wells and W. Fargo first started their banking business during the Gold Rush in 1852. The history of the particular business is preserved here, but since Wells Fargo Bank was closely involved in the development of San Francisco and California, the museum is a true treasure for history buffs.

As one would expect from such a reputable corporation as Wells Fargo (now one of the largest banks in America), the exhibition is well thought out and professionally presented. In the museum you will see samples of native gold from all the major deposits in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, banking equipment from the mid-19th century and a real Wells Fargo stagecoach (their signature). You will learn the story of Black Bart, who succeeded in 27 robberies of these same stagecoaches (he had to stop there, since the twenty-eighth was not so successful). One of the most interesting exhibits - for those who are often on the road - will be a model of a “moving” stagecoach, in which you can sit and, while listening to a recording of an actor reading the diary of a real passenger in 1859, imagine the journey from St. Louis to San Francisco. Sitting in a cramped carriage with few others and having difficulty imagining the “full complement” of nine people, you begin to understand how petty and unjustified the complaints of modern travelers are.

Wells Fargo is

Sources

Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia, WikiPedia

wellsfargo.com - Well Fargo bank website

betafinance.ru - Beta Finance

Biznes-war.ru - All about business

wellsfargohistory.com - Well Fargo History

Investor Encyclopedia. 2013 .

See what "Wells Fargo" is in other dictionaries:

Wells Fargo- Co. Tipo Pública (NYSE: WFC) Fundación … Wikipedia Español

Wells Fargo- Rechtsform Corporation ISIN US9497461015 Gründung ... Deutsch Wikipedia

Wells Fargo- Co. Type Public company Listing on NYSE: WFC Year founded ... Wikipedia