Wells Fargo - Wikipedia Wells Fargo For other uses, see Wells Fargo ( disambiguation ). Wells Fargo & Company Company logo since 2008 Wells Fargo corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California Type Public company Traded as NYSE : WFC S&P 100 Component S&P 500 Component Industry Banking, Financial services Predecessors Crocker National Bank First Interstate Bancorp Bank of North America First Security Corporation Norwest Corporation Wachovia Founded March 18, 1852 ; 165 years ago ( 1852 - 03 - 18 ) New York City, New York, United States Founder Henry Wells William Fargo Headquarters San Francisco, California, United States Area served Worldwide Key people Stephen Sanger ( Chairman ) Elizabeth Duke ( Vice Chair ) Timothy J. Sloan ( President and CEO ) Products Asset management, brokerage services, commercial banking, commodities, consumer banking, corporate banking, credit cards, consumer finance, equities trading, finance and insurance, foreign currency exchange, foreign exchange trading, futures and options trading, insurance, investment banking, investment management, money market trading, mortgage loans, prime brokerage, private banking, retail banking, retail brokerage, risk management, treasury and security services, underwriting, wealth management Revenue US $ 88.26 billion ( 2016 ) Operating income US $32.12 billion ( 2016 ) Profit US $21.93 billion ( 2016 ) Total assets US $1.930 trillion ( 2016 ) Total equity US $199.5 billion ( 2016 ) Number of employees 268,800 ( 2016 ) Divisions Wells Fargo Rail Website wellsfargo.com An older Wells Fargo branch, located in Berkeley, California Wells Fargo & Company is an American international banking and financial services holding company headquartered in San Francisco, California, with `` hubquarters '' throughout the country. It is the world 's second - largest bank by market capitalization and the third largest bank in the U.S. by assets. In July 2015, Wells Fargo became the world 's largest bank by market capitalization, edging past ICBC, before slipping behind JP Morgan Chase in September 2016, in the wake of a scandal involving the creation of over 2 million fake bank accounts by Wells Fargo employees. Wells Fargo surpassed Citigroup Inc. to become the third - largest U.S. bank by assets at the end of 2015. Wells Fargo is the second - largest bank in deposits, home mortgage servicing, and debit cards. The firm 's primary U.S. operating subsidiary is national bank Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., which designates its main office as Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Wells Fargo in its present form is a result of a merger between San Francisco -- based Wells Fargo & Company and Minneapolis - based Norwest Corporation in 1998 and the subsequent 2008 acquisition of Charlotte - based Wachovia. Following the mergers, the company transferred its headquarters to Wells Fargo 's headquarters in San Francisco and merged its operating subsidiary with Wells Fargo 's operating subsidiary in Sioux Falls. Along with JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup, Wells Fargo is one of the `` Big Four Banks '' of the United States. As of December 31, 2015, it had 8,700 retail branches and 13,000 automated teller machines. The company operates across 35 countries and has over 70 million customers globally. In February 2014, Wells Fargo was named the world 's most valuable bank brand for the second year running in The Banker and Brand Finance study of the top 500 banking brands. In 2016, Wells Fargo ranked 7th on the Forbes Magazine Global 2000 list of largest public companies in the world and ranked 27th on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies in the United States. In 2015, the company was ranked the 22nd most admired company in the world, and the 7th most respected company in the world. As of October 2015, the company had a credit rating of AA −. However, for a brief period in 2007, the company was the only AAA - rated bank, reflecting the highest credit rating from two firms. Following the emergence in September 2016 of the scandals involving unauthorized cross-selling and the creation of fake accounts, Wells Fargo in October 2016 became the largest bank ever to lose its accreditation with the Better Business Bureau and was also placed under investigation by the California attorney general for alleged criminal identity theft during the creation of millions of accounts without customer consent. Separately in October 2016, Wells Fargo settled upon a payout for a racketeering lawsuit alleging the overcharging of hundreds of thousands of homeowners by the bank for appraisals ordered after defaults on the customers ' mortgage loans. In December 2016, following the scandal, the company amended its by - laws to separate the roles of chairman and CEO. A regulatory filing by Wells Fargo revealed in November 2016 that it was under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in relation to its accounts sales practices. Also in November 2016, three U.S. senators alleged that Wells Fargo 's sales scandal had extended from retail bankers to its brokerage employees, and the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency placed new monitoring restrictions upon Wells Fargo 's hiring of new executives, payments of `` golden parachutes '' to exiting managers, and branch openings and closures. In December 2016, Bloomberg News reported that regulators in California and New Jersey announced that Wells Fargo was under investigation to determine whether the bank signed up customers for Prudential Financial life insurance policies without their permission, and that Prudential announced it was suspending distribution of such policies through Wells Fargo. In January 2017, it emerged that Wells Fargo had kept its talks with the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about the fake account investigation silent from shareholders for up to six months beginning as early as March 2016. In June 2017, it was revealed that a new class action lawsuit alleged that Wells Fargo made unauthorized alterations in the home loans of borrowers in bankruptcy that would ultimately charge these customers more in mortgage payments over the long term. In July 2017, Wells Fargo apologized for charging as many as 570,000 customers with unnecessary automobile insurance costs, which may have caused about 20,000 of them to default on their car loans. In August 2017, a federal judge refused to dismiss a lawsuit accusing Wells Fargo of denying loans to immigrants who came to the United States as children and have been allowed to remain in the country. Also in August 2017, a lawsuit was filed against Wells Fargo in federal court for overcharging small mom - and - pop businesses for processing credit - card transactions and then charging them massive fees for early termination of the relationship. In October 2017, Wells Fargo was accused by U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown of lying to the U.S. Congress in late 2016 by failing to disclose a contemporaneous auto insurance scandal. Also in October 2017, Wells Fargo admitted to wrongly charging some borrowers `` mortgage rate lock extension fees '' for missing deadlines to lock in promised interest rates even when Wells Fargo caused the delays. Contents 1 Current operations 1.1 Community banking 1.1. 1 Consumer lending 1.1. 2 Wells Fargo private student loans 1.2 Wholesale banking 1.2. 1 Equipment lending 1.3 Wealth and Investment Management 1.3. 1 Wells Fargo Securities 1.4 Cross-selling 1.5 International operations 1.6 Charter 2 History 2.1 Wells Fargo History Museums 2.2 Key dates 2.3 Wachovia acquisition 2.4 Investment by U.S. Treasury during 2008 financial crisis 2.4. 1 History of Wells Fargo Securities 2.5 Environmental record 3 Controversies 3.1 Higher costs charged to African - American and Hispanic borrowers 3.2 Failure to monitor suspected money laundering 3.3 Overdraft fees 3.4 Settlement and fines regarding mortgage servicing practices 3.5 Alleged racial discrimination during foreclosures 3.6 SEC fine due to inadequate risk disclosures 3.7 Lawsuit by FHA over loan underwriting 3.8 Lawsuit due to premium inflation on forced place insurance 3.9 Lawsuit regarding excessive overdraft fees 3.10 2015 Violation of New York credit card laws 3.11 Executive compensation 3.12 Tax avoidance and lobbying 3.13 Prison industry investment 3.14 SEC settlement for insider trading case 3.15 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fines 3.16 Racketeering lawsuit for mortgage appraisal overcharges 3.17 Dakota Access Pipeline investment 3.18 Failure to comply with document security requirements 4 Notable buildings 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 8 External links Current operations Map of Wells Fargo branches. Wells Fargo delineates three different business segments when reporting results : Community Banking, Wholesale Banking, and Wealth, Brokerage and Retirement. Community banking The Community Banking segment includes Regional Banking, Diversified Products, and Consumer Deposits groups, as well as Wells Fargo Customer Connection ( formerly Wells Fargo Phone Bank, Wachovia Direct Access, the National Business Banking Center, and Credit Card Customer Service ). Wells Fargo also has around 2,000 stand - alone mortgage branches throughout the country. There are mini-branches located inside of other buildings, which are almost exclusively grocery stores, that usually contain ATMs, basic teller services, and, space permitting, an office for private meetings with customers. 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. Consumer lending As of Q3 2011, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage was the largest retail mortgage lender in the United States, originating one out of every four home loans. Wells Fargo services $1.8 trillion in home mortgages, the second largest servicing portfolio in the U.S. It was reported in 2012 Wells Fargo reached 30 % market share for US mortgages, however, the then - CEO John Stumpf had said the numbers were misleading because about half of that share represented the aggregation of smaller loans that were then sold on in the secondary market. In 2013, its share was closer to 22 % ; of which eight percentage points was aggregation. Wells Fargo private student loans Wells Fargo private student loans are available to students to pay for college expenses, such as tuition, books, computers, or housing. Loans are available for undergraduate, career and community colleges, graduate school, law school and medical school. Wells Fargo also provides private student loan consolidation and student loans for parents. Wholesale banking Its 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 capital markets and investment banking services through Wells Fargo Securities. One area that is very profitable to Wells Fargo, however, is asset - based lending : lending to large companies using accounts receivable and inventory as collateral, though less traditional assets are often included in the collateral package. Historically, this type of lending has been done when normal routes of raising funds, such as the Capital Markets or unsecured bank loans, have been exhausted. The main business unit associated with this activity is Wells Fargo Capital Finance. 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 ). Equipment lending Wells Fargo has various divisions that finance and lease equipment to different types of companies. One venture is Wells Fargo Rail, which in 2015 completed the purchase of GE Capital Rail Services and merged in with First Union Rail. Wells Fargo Equipment Finance is the country 's largest equipment financer and nearly doubled in size after it purchased GE Capital 's equipment finance division effective March 1, 2016. Wealth and investment management Wells Fargo Advisors headquarters in St. Louis Wells Fargo offers investment products through its subsidiaries, Wells Fargo Investments, LLC and Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC, as well as through national broker / dealer firms. Mutual funds are offered under the Wells Fargo Advantage Funds brand name. The company also serves high - net - worth individuals through its private bank and family wealth group. Wells Fargo Advisors is the brokerage subsidiary of Wells Fargo, located in St. Louis. It is the third largest brokerage firm in the United States as of the third quarter of 2010 with $1.1 trillion retail client assets under management. Wells Fargo Advisors was known as Wachovia Securities until May 1, 2009, when it legally changed names following the Wells Fargo 's acquisition of Wachovia Corporation. Wells Fargo Securities Wells Fargo Securities, LLC Type Subsidiary Industry Investment Banking Headquarters Charlotte, North Carolina Area served Worldwide Website www.wellsfargo.com/com/securities/ The Seagram Building : Home of Wells Fargo Securities ' New York offices and trading floors Wells Fargo Securities ( `` WFS '' ) is the investment banking division of Wells Fargo & Co. The size and financial performance of this group is not disclosed publicly, but analysts believe the investment banking group houses approximately 4,500 employees and generates between $3 and $4 billion per year in investment banking revenue. By comparison, two of Wells Fargo 's largest competitors, Bank of America and J.P. Morgan Chase generated approximately $5.5 billion and $6 billion respectively in 2011 ( not including sales and trading revenue ). WFS headquarters is in Charlotte, North Carolina, with other U.S. offices in New York, Minneapolis, Boston, Houston, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, and international offices in London and Hong Kong. Cross-selling A key part of Wells Fargo 's business strategy is cross-selling, the practice of encouraging existing customers to buy additional banking products. Customers inquiring about their checking account balance may be pitched mortgage deals and mortgage holders may be pitched credit card offers in an attempt to increase the customer 's profitability to the bank. Other banks have attempted to emulate Wells Fargo 's cross-selling practices ( described by The Wall Street Journal as a hard sell technique ) ; Forbes magazine describes Wells Fargo as `` better than anyone '' at the practice. International operations Wells Fargo provides banking services throughout the world, with offices in Hong Kong, London, Dubai, Singapore, Tokyo, Toronto. They operate back - offices in India and the Philippines with more than 3,000 staff. Charter Wells Fargo operates under Charter # 1, the first national bank charter issued in the United States. This charter was issued to First National Bank of Philadelphia on June 20, 1863, by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Traditionally, acquiring banks assume the earliest issued charter number. Thus, the first charter passed from First National Bank of Philadelphia to Wells Fargo through its 2008 acquisition of Wachovia, which had inherited it through one of its many acquisitions. History Main article : History of Wells Fargo Wells Fargo History museums The company operates 11 museums, most known as a Wells Fargo History Museum, in its corporate buildings in Charlotte, North Carolina, Denver, Colorado, Los Angeles, California, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Phoenix, Arizona, Portland, Oregon, Sacramento, California and San Francisco, California. Displays include original stagecoaches, photographs, gold nuggets and mining artifacts, the Pony Express, telegraph equipment and historic bank artifacts. The company also operates a museum about company history in the Pony Express Terminal in Old Sacramento State Historic Park in Sacramento, California, which was the company 's second office, and the Wells Fargo History Museum in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park in San Diego, California. Wells Fargo operates the Alaska Heritage Museum in Anchorage, Alaska, which features a large collection of Alaskan Native artifacts, ivory carvings and baskets, fine art by Alaskan artists, and displays about Wells Fargo history in the Alaskan Gold Rush era. Key dates A late 19th Century Wells Fargo Bank in Apache Junction, Arizona Wells Fargo bank in Chinatown, Houston A recently remodeled Wells Fargo bank in Fort Worth, Texas. ( 2014 ) Wells Fargo in Laredo, Texas 1852 : Henry Wells and William G. Fargo ( Mayor of Buffalo, NY from 1862 to 1863 and again from 1864 to 1865 ), the two founders of American Express, formed Wells Fargo & Company to provide express and banking services to California. 1860 : Wells Fargo gained control of Butterfield Overland Mail Company, leading to operation of the western portion of the Pony Express. 1866 : `` Grand consolidation '' united Wells Fargo, Holladay, and Overland Mail stage lines under the Wells Fargo name. 1905 : Wells Fargo separated 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 express franchise into a federal agency known as the U.S. Railway Express Agency ( REA ). The government took control of the express company. The bank begins rebuilding but with a focus on commercial markets. After the war, REA is privatized and continues service. 1923 : Wells Fargo Nevada merged with the Union Trust Company to form the Wells Fargo Bank & Union Trust Company. 1929 : Northwest Bancorporation was formed as a banking association. 1954 : Wells Fargo & Union Trust shortened its name to Wells Fargo Bank. 1960 : Wells Fargo merged with American Trust Company to form the Wells Fargo Bank American Trust Company. 1962 : Wells Fargo American Trust again shortened its name to Wells Fargo Bank. 1968 : Wells Fargo converted to a federal banking charter, becoming Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. 1969 : Wells Fargo & Company holding company was formed, with Wells Fargo Bank as its main subsidiary. 1982 : Northwest Bancorporation acquires consumer finance firm Dial Finance which is renamed Norwest Financial Service the following year. 1983 : Northwest Bancorporation is renamed Norwest Corporation. 1983 : White Eagle, largest U.S. bank heist to date took place at a Wells Fargo depot in West Hartford, Connecticut. 1986 : Wells Fargo acquired Crocker National Corporation from Midland Bank. 1987 : Wells Fargo acquired the personal trust business of Bank of America. 1988 : Wells Fargo acquired Barclays Bank of California from Barclays plc. 1995 : Wells Fargo became the first major U.S. financial services firm to offer Internet banking. 1996 : Wells Fargo acquired First Interstate Bancorp for $11.6 billion. 1998 : Wells Fargo Bank merged with Norwest Corporation of Minneapolis. 2000 : Wells Fargo Bank acquired National Bank of Alaska. 2000 : Wells Fargo acquired First Security Corporation. 2001 : Wells Fargo acquired H.D. Vest Financial Services for $128 million, but sold it in 2015 for $580 million. 2007 : Wells Fargo acquired CIT 's construction unit. 2007 : Wells Fargo acquired Placer Sierra Bank. 2007 : Wells Fargo acquired Greater Bay Bancorp, which had $7.4 billion in assets, in a $1.5 billion transaction. 2008 : Wells Fargo acquired United Bancorporation of Wyoming. 2008 : Wells Fargo acquired Century Bancshares of Texas. 2008 : Wells Fargo acquired Wachovia Corporation. 2009 : Wells Fargo acquired North Coast Surety Insurance Services. 2012 : Wells Fargo acquired Merlin Securities. 2012 : Wells Fargo acquired stake in The Rock Creek Group LP. 2016 : In an effort to lessen the damage of the $185 million fine imposed against Wells Fargo ( NYSE : WFC ) & Co, the bank has now announced that they would not be offering broker bonuses and other programs and products. 2017 : Retirement of controversial executive vice president of wealth management Jeff Grubb. The Portland, Oregon native has also served as a trustee for M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust of Vancouver, Washington, since 2010. Wachovia acquisition A former Wachovia branch converted to Wells Fargo in the fall of 2011 in Durham, North Carolina. On October 3, 2008, Wachovia agreed to be bought by Wells Fargo for about $14.8 billion in an all - stock transaction. This news came four days after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ( FDIC ) made moves to have Citigroup buy Wachovia for $2.1 billion. Citigroup protested Wachovia 's agreement to sell itself to Wells Fargo and threatened legal action over the matter. However, the deal with Wells Fargo overwhelmingly won shareholder approval since it valued Wachovia at about seven times what Citigroup offered. To further ensure shareholder approval, Wachovia issued Wells Fargo preferred stock that holds 39.9 % of the voting power in the company. On October 4, 2008, a New York state judge issued a temporary injunction blocking the transaction from going forward while the situation was sorted out. Citigroup alleged that they had an exclusivity agreement with Wachovia that barred Wachovia from negotiating with other potential buyers. The injunction was overturned late in the evening on October 5, 2008, by New York state appeals court. Citigroup and Wells Fargo then entered into negotiations brokered by the FDIC to reach an amicable solution to the impasse. Those negotiations failed. Sources say that Citigroup was unwilling to take on more risk than the $42 billion that would have been the cap under the previous FDIC - backed deal ( with the FDIC incurring all losses over $42 billion ). Citigroup did not block the merger, but indicated they would seek damages of $60 billion for breach of an alleged exclusivity agreement with Wachovia. Investment by U.S. Treasury during 2008 Financial crisis On October 28, 2008, Wells Fargo was the recipient of $25 billion of Emergency Economic Stabilization Act funds in the form of a preferred stock purchase by the US Treasury. Tests by the Federal government revealed that Wells Fargo needed an additional $13.7 billion in order to remain well capitalized if the economy were to deteriorate further under stress test scenarios. On May 11, 2009 Wells Fargo announced an additional stock offering which was completed on May 13, 2009 raising $8.6 billion in capital. The remaining $4.9 billion in capital was planned to be raised through earnings. On Dec. 23, 2009, Wells Fargo redeemed the $25 billion of preferred stock issued to the US Treasury. As part of the redemption of the preferred stock, Wells Fargo also paid accrued dividends of $131.9 million, bringing the total dividends paid to $1.441 billion since the preferred stock was issued in October 2008. History of Wells Fargo Securities Wells Fargo Securities was established in 2009 to house Wells Fargo 's capital markets group which it obtained during the Wachovia acquisition. Prior to that point, Wells Fargo had little to no participation in investment banking activities, though Wachovia had a well established investment banking practice which it operated under the Wachovia Securities banner. Wachovia 's institutional capital markets and investment banking business arose from the merger of Wachovia and First Union. First Union had bought Bowles Hollowell Connor & Co. on April 30, 1998 adding to its merger and acquisition, high yield, leveraged finance, equity underwriting, private placement, loan syndication, risk management, and public finance capabilities. Legacy components of Wells Fargo Securities include Wachovia Securities, Bowles Hollowell Connor & Co., Barrington Associates, Halsey, Stuart & Co., Leopold Cahn & Co., Bache & Co... Prudential Securities, A.G. Edwards, Inc. and the investment banking arm of Citadel LLC. Duke Energy Center in Charlotte, home of WFS Environmental record This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( March 2012 ) In 2009, Wells Fargo ranked # 1 among banks and insurance companies, and # 13 overall, in Newsweek Magazine 's inaugural `` Green Rankings '' of the country 's 500 largest companies. So far, Wells Fargo has provided more than $6 billion in financing for environmentally beneficial business opportunities, including supporting 185 commercial - scale solar photovoltaic projects and 27 utility - scale wind projects nationwide. As a member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 's Climate Leaders program, Wells Fargo aims to reduce its absolute greenhouse gas emissions from its U.S. operations by 20 % below 2008 levels by 2018. Wells Fargo has launched what it believes to be the first blog among its industry peers to report on its environmental stewardship and to solicit feedback and ideas from its stakeholders. `` We want to be as open and clear as possible about our environmental efforts -- both our accomplishments and challenges -- and share our experiences, ideas and thoughts as we work to integrate environmental responsibility into everything we do, '' said Mary Wenzel, director of Environmental Affairs. `` We also want to hear and learn from our customers. By working together, we can do even more to protect and preserve natural resources for future generations. '' Controversies A Wells Fargo branch in Logan, Utah Higher costs charged to African - American and Hispanic borrowers Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed suit against Wells Fargo on July 31, 2009, alleging that the bank steers African Americans and Hispanics into high - cost subprime loans. A Wells Fargo spokesman responded that `` The policies, systems, and controls we have in place -- including in Illinois -- ensure race is not a factor... '' According to Beth Jacobson, a loan officer at Wells Fargo interviewed for a report in The New York Times, `` We just went right after them. 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. '' The report goes on to present data from the city of Baltimore, where `` more than half the properties subject to foreclosure on a Wells Fargo loan from 2005 to 2008 now stand vacant. And 71 percent of those are in predominantly black neighborhoods. '' Failure to monitor suspected money laundering In a March 2010 agreement with federal prosecutors, Wells Fargo acknowledged that between 2004 and 2007 Wachovia had failed to monitor and report suspected money laundering by narcotics traffickers, including the cash used to buy four planes that shipped a total of 22 tons of cocaine into Mexico. Overdraft fees In August 2010, Wells Fargo was fined by U.S. District Judge William Alsup for overdraft practices designed to `` gouge '' consumers and `` profiteer '' at their expense, and for misleading consumers about how the bank processed transactions and assessed overdraft fees. Settlement and fines regarding mortgage servicing practices On February 9, 2012, it was announced that the five largest mortgage servicers ( Ally / GMAC, Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo ) agreed to a settlement with the federal government and 49 states. The settlement, known as the National Mortgage Settlement ( NMS ), required the servicers to provide about $26 billion in relief to distressed homeowners and in direct payments to the states and federal government. This settlement amount makes the NMS the second largest civil settlement in U.S. history, only trailing the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. The five banks were also required to comply with 305 new mortgage servicing standards. Oklahoma held out and agreed to settle with the banks separately. On April 5, 2012, a federal judge ordered Wells Fargo to pay $3.1 million in punitive damages over a single loan, one of the largest fines for a bank ever for mortgaging service misconduct. 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. She went on to add, `` perhaps more disturbing is Wells Fargo 's refusal to voluntarily correct its errors. It prefers to rely on the ignorance of borrowers or their inability to fund a challenge to its demands, rather than voluntarily relinquish gains obtained through improper accounting methods. '' Alleged racial discrimination during foreclosures In 2011, the Department of Housing and Urban Development ( HUD ) launched an investigation of Wells Fargo for racial discrimination practices, the second federal probe in 2012 of alleged violations of misconduct with regard to race. The other, began in 2011 by the National Fair Housing Alliance has found `` overwhelming '' and `` troubling '' evidence that six of the nation 's major banks handle foreclosures in neighborhoods populated primarily by minorities differently than in white communities. On July 13, 2012, Wells Fargo entered a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice for allegedly discriminating against African - American and Hispanic borrowers from 2004 to 2009. 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. Wells Fargo spokespersons denied all claims and are settling only to avoid contested litigation. SEC fine due to inadequate risk disclosures On August 14, 2012, Wells Fargo agreed to pay around $6.5 million to settle SEC charges that in 2007 it sold risky mortgage - backed securities without fully realizing their dangers. Lawsuit by FHA over loan underwriting On October 9, 2012, the U.S. federal government sued the bank under the False Claims Act at the federal court in Manhattan, New York. The suit alleges that Wells Fargo defrauded the Federal Housing Administration ( FHA ) over the past ten years, underwriting over 100,000 FHA backed loans when over half did not qualify for the program. This suit is the third allegation levied against Wells Fargo in 2012. In October 2012, Wells Fargo was sued by U.S. federal attorney Preet Bharara over questionable mortgage deals. Lawsuit due to premium inflation on forced place insurance In April 2013, Wells Fargo settled a suit with 24,000 Florida homeowners alongside insurer QBE, in which Wells Fargo was accused of inflating premiums on forced - place insurance. Lawsuit regarding excessive overdraft fees 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. Also in May, the New York attorney - general, Eric Schneiderman, announced a lawsuit against Wells Fargo over alleged violations of the national mortgage settlement, a $25 billion deal struck between 49 state attorneys and the five - largest mortgage servicers in the US. Schneidermann claimed Wells Fargo had violated rules over giving fair and timely serving. 2015 violation of New York credit card laws In February 2015, Wells Fargo agreed to pay $4 million for violations where an affiliate took interest in the homes of borrowers in exchange for opening credit card accounts for the homeowners. This is illegal according to New York credit card laws. There was a $2 million penalty with the other $2 million going towards restitution to customers. Executive compensation With CEO John Stumpf being paid 473 times more than the median employee, Wells Fargo ranks number 33 among the S&P 500 companies for CEO -- employee pay inequality. 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. After being contacted by the media, Wells Fargo responded that all employees receive `` market competitive '' pay and benefits significantly above federal minimums. Tax avoidance and lobbying In December 2011, the non-partisan organization Public Campaign criticized Wells Fargo for spending $11 million on lobbying and not paying any taxes during 2008 -- 2010, instead getting $681 million in tax rebates, despite making a profit of $49 billion, laying off 6,385 workers since 2008, and increasing executive pay by 180 % to $49.8 million in 2010 for its top five executives. As of 2014 however, at an effective tax rate of 31.2 % of its income, Wells Fargo is the fourth - largest payer of corporation tax in the U.S. Prison industry investment Main article : Prison -- industrial complex The GEO Group, Inc., a multi-national provider of for - profit private prisons, received investments made by Wells Fargo mutual funds on behalf of clients, not investments made by Wells Fargo and Company, according to company statements. By March 2012, its stake had grown to more than 4.4 million shares worth $86.7 million. As of November, 2012, the latest SEC filings reveal that Wells Fargo has divested 33 % of its dispositive holdings of GEO 's stock, which reduces Wells Fargo 's holdings to 4.98 % of Geo Group 's common stock. By reducing its holdings to less than 5 %, Wells Fargo will no longer be required to disclose some financial dealings with GEO. While a coalition of organizations, National People 's Action Campaign, have seen some success in pressuring Wells Fargo to divest from private prison companies like GEO Group, the company continues to make such investments. SEC settlement for insider trading case In 2015, an analyst at Wells Fargo settled an insider trading case with the SEC. The former employee was charged with insider trading alongside an ex-Wells Fargo trader. Sadis & Goldberg obtained a settlement that permitted the client to continue in securities industry, while neither admitting nor denying one charge of negligence - based § 17 ( a ) ( 3 ) claim, and paying a $75,000 civil penalty Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fines Main article : Wells Fargo account fraud scandal In September 2016, Wells Fargo was issued a combined total of $185 million in fines for creating over 1.5 million checking and savings accounts and 500,000 credit cards that its customers never authorized. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued $100 million in fines, the largest in the agency 's five - year history, along with $50 million in fines from the City and County of Los Angeles, and $35 million in fines from the Office of Comptroller of the Currency. The scandal was caused by an incentive - compensation program for employees to create new accounts. It led to the firing of nearly 5,300 employees and $5 million being set aside for customer refunds on fees for accounts the customers never wanted. Carrie Tolstedt, who headed the department, retired in July 2016 and received $124.6 million in stock, options, and restricted Wells Fargo shares as a retirement package. On October 12, 2016, John Stumpf, the then Chairman and CEO, announced that he would be retiring amidst the controversies involving his company. It was announced by Wells Fargo that President and Chief Operating Officer Timothy J. Sloan would succeed, effective immediately. Following the scandal, applications for credit cards and checking accounts at the bank plummeted dramatically. In response to the event, the Better Business Bureau dropped accreditation of the bank, S&P Global Ratings lowered its outlook for Wells Fargo to negative from stable, and several states and cities across the US ended business relations with the company. An investigation by the Wells Fargo board of directors, the report of which was released in April 2017, primarily blamed Stumpf, whom it said had not responded to evidence of wrongdoing in the consumer services division, and Tolstedt, who was said to have knowingly set impossible sales goals and refused to respond when subordinates disagreed with them. The board chose to use a clawback clause in the retirement contracts of Stumpf and Tolstedt to recover $75 million worth of cash and stock from the former executives. Racketeering lawsuit for mortgage appraisal overcharges In November 2016, Wells Fargo agreed to pay $50 million to settle a racketeering lawsuit in which the bank was accused of overcharging hundreds of thousands of homeowners for appraisals ordered after they defaulted on their mortgage loans. While banks are allowed to charge homeowners for such appraisals, Wells Fargo frequently charged homeowners $95 to $125 on appraisals for which the bank had been charged $50 or less. The plaintiffs had sought triple damages under the U.S. Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act on grounds that sending invoices and statements with fraudulently concealed fees constituted mail and wire fraud sufficient to allege racketeering. Dakota Access Pipeline investment Wells Fargo is a top investor in the Dakota Access Pipeline project in North Dakota, a 1,172 - mile - long ( 1,886 km ) underground oil pipeline project in the United States. The pipeline has been controversial regarding its necessity, and potential impact on the environment. In February 2017, Seattle, Washington 's city council unanimously voted to not renew its contract with Wells Fargo `` in a move that cites the bank 's role as a lender to the Dakota Access Pipeline project as well as its `` creation of millions of bogus accounts. '' and saying the bidding process for its next banking partner will involve `` social responsibility. '' The City Council in Davis, California, took a similar action voting unanimously to find a new bank to handle its accounts by the end of 2017. Failure to comply with document security requirements In December 2016, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined Wells Fargo $5.5 million for failing to store electronic documents in a `` write once, read many '' format, which makes it impossible to alter or destroy records after they are written. Notable buildings Wells Fargo Building in Boise, Idaho One Wells Fargo Center in Charlotte, North Carolina Wells Fargo Building in Davenport, Iowa Wells Fargo Building in Lubbock, Texas With Texas Tech logo Wells Fargo Center in Denver, Colorado Wells Fargo Center in Jacksonville, Florida Wells Fargo Center in Los Angeles, California Wells Fargo Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota Wells Fargo Center in Portland, Oregon Wells Fargo Center in Sacramento, California Wells Fargo Center in Salt Lake City, Utah Wells Fargo Center in Seattle, Washington Wells Fargo Place in Saint Paul, Minnesota Wells Fargo Plaza in San Diego, California Wells Fargo Plaza in El Paso, Texas Wells Fargo Plaza in Houston, Texas Wells Fargo Plaza in Phoenix, Arizona Wells Fargo Tower in Birmingham, Alabama Wells Fargo Tower in Colorado Springs, Colorado Duke Energy Center ( formerly Wachovia Corporate Center ) in Charlotte, North Carolina -- Wells Fargo owns and occupies space in the building One Wells Fargo Center -- Charlotte, North Carolina Wells Fargo Center in Los Angeles Wells Fargo Center in Minneapolis Wells Fargo Center in Denver Wells Fargo Center in Salt Lake City Wells Fargo Center in Albuquerque Wells Fargo Center in Jacksonville Wells Fargo Center in Sacramento, California Wells Fargo Plaza in San Diego, California Wells Fargo Building in Lubbock, Texas With Texas Tech logo See also San Francisco Bay Area portal Companies portal Comparison of online brokerages List of Wells Fargo directors List of Wells Fargo presidents Wells Fargo Arena Wells Fargo Center Notes ^ Jump up to : Wells Fargo & Company 2015 Form 10 - K Annual Report Jump up ^ `` Wells Fargo Annual Report 2008 '' ( PDF ). Wellsfargo.com. Retrieved 28 December 2014. ^ Jump up to : Laura J. Keller and Katherine Chiglinsky ( September 13, 2016 ). `` Wells Fargo Eclipsed by JPMorgan as World 's Most Valuable Bank ''. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved September 16, 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` This is the most valuable bank in the world ''. Fortune. Retrieved 24 July 2015. Jump up ^ `` FRB : Large Commercial Banks -- March 31, 2016 ''. ^ Jump up to : `` Forbes - Worlds Largest Companies in 2016 ''. Forbes. Jump up ^ `` Wells Fargo Tops List of World 's Most Valuable Bank Brands, Leads Strong US Growth ''. Brand Finance. February 3, 2014. Jump up ^ `` The Top 500 Banking Brands, 2014 ''. The Banker. February 3, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Fortune 500 # 30 : Wells Fargo ''. Fortune Magazine. Retrieved July 24, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Fitch Affirms Wells Fargo & Company 's LT IDR at ' AA - ' Following Large Regional Bank Review '' ( Press release ). Fitch. October 5, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Wells Fargo Bank Becomes S&P 's Only `` AAA '' Credit - rated U.S. Bank '' ( Press release ). PRNewswire. February 14, 2007. Jump up ^ Jeff Cox ( October 20, 2016 ). `` Wells Fargo just lost its accreditation with the Better Business Bureau ''. CNBC. Retrieved October 20, 2016. Jump up ^ Richard Gonzales ( October 19, 2016 ). `` California Investigates Whether Wells Fargo Committed Criminal Identity Theft ''. NPR. Retrieved October 20, 2016. Jump up ^ Dena Aubin ( October 31, 2016 ). `` Wells Fargo agrees to $50 million settlement over homeowner fees ''. Thomson Reuters. Retrieved October 31, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Wells Fargo splits chairman, CEO roles in wake of fake accounts scandal - Philadelphia Business Journal ''. Philadelphia Business Journal. Retrieved 2016 - 12 - 02. Jump up ^ ( 1 ) Accessed November 3, 2016. Jump up ^ ( 2 ) Accessed November 3, 2016. Jump up ^ Matt Egan ( November 21, 2016 ). `` Feds ' tightening the straitjacket ' around Wells Fargo ''. CNN Money. Retrieved November 21, 2016. Jump up ^ David Voreacos and Katherine Chiglinsky ( December 12, 2016 ). `` Wells Fargo Faces California, New Jersey Probes Over Sales ''. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved December 12, 2016. Jump up ^ Matt Egan ( January 12, 2017 ). `` Wells Fargo was silent about fake account probe for at least 6 months ''. CNN Money. Retrieved January 12, 2017. Jump up ^ Gretchen Morgenson ( June 14, 2017 ). `` Wells Fargo Is Accused of Making Improper Changes to Mortgages ''. The New York Times. Retrieved June 14, 2017. Jump up ^ Matt Egan ( July 28, 2017 ). `` Wells Fargo may have forced 570,000 customers into unneeded auto insurance ''. CNN. Retrieved July 28, 2017. Jump up ^ Bob Egelko ( August 7, 2017 ). `` Wells Fargo accused of denying loans to immigrants in DACA program ''. SFChronicle.com. Retrieved August 8, 2017. Jump up ^ Matt Egan ( August 11, 2017 ). `` Wells Fargo accused of ripping off mom - and - pop shops ''. CNN. Retrieved August 11, 2017. Jump up ^ ( ( cite web url = http://money.cnn.com/2017/10/03/investing/wells-fargo-lie-congress-hearing-auto-insurance/index.html%7Ctitle=Wells Fargo accused of lying to Congress about auto insurance scandal author = Matt Egan publisher = CNN date = October 3, 2017 accessdate = October 3, 2017 ) ) Jump up ^ Matt Egan ( October 4, 2017 ). `` Wells Fargo wrongly hit homebuyers with fees to lock in mortgage rates ''. CNN. Retrieved October 4, 2017. Jump up ^ `` A Review of Wells Fargo 's Subprime Lending '' ( PDF ). Jump up ^ `` Click `` Wells Fargo In - Store Branches '' for a pop - up with this information ``. Wellsfargo.com. Retrieved 28 December 2014. Jump up ^ Romain Dillet ( 27 March 2017 ). `` Wells Fargo will let you use Apple Pay and Android Pay to withdraw money ''. TechCrunch. Retrieved 29 March 2017. Jump up ^ Q3 2011, Inside Mortgage Finance, Sept. 2011 Jump up ^ `` Browser Warning ''. Wellsfargo.com. Retrieved 2012 - 03 - 13. ^ Jump up to : `` Bank of the Year : How Wells Fargo conquered America ''. Euromoney. July 2013. Jump up ^ `` Wells Fargo Private Student Loan Review -- NerdWallet ''. 2016 - 06 - 09. Retrieved 2016 - 08 - 25. Jump up ^ `` Warren Buffett Seal of Approval Goes To... Wells Fargo Bankers ? Date 11 Apr 2011 ''. Blogs.wsj.com. 2011 - 04 - 11. Retrieved 2012 - 03 - 13. Jump up ^ `` Our strategy : How we 're going to get there ''. Wellsfargo.com. Retrieved 2012 - 10 - 07. ^ Jump up to : Smith, Randall ( February 28, 2011 ). `` In Tribute to Wells, Banks Try the Hard Sell ''. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 4, 2012. ^ Jump up to : Touryalai, Halah ( January 25, 2012 ). `` The Art Of The Cross-Sell ''. Forbes. Retrieved April 4, 2012. Jump up ^ `` International Locations and Contacts -- Wells Fargo Commercial ''. Jump up ^ Glazer, Emily. `` A Look at Wells Fargo 's Overseas Expansion ''. Retrieved 2016 - 08 - 25. Jump up ^ `` Why US banking giant Wells Fargo is creating back - office jobs in India ''. Firstpost. 2012 - 06 - 22. Retrieved 2017 - 10 - 18. Jump up ^ Riggs, Charles ( July 6, 2009 ). `` Wells Fargo 's Charter Number ( cont 'd ) ''. Wells Fargo. Jump up ^ `` Museums - Wells Fargo History ''. Jump up ^ `` B.F. Hastings Building ''. California State Railroad Museum Foundation. Retrieved 24 February 2015. Jump up ^ `` Old Town State Historic Park i ''. San Diego History Center. Retrieved 24 February 2015. Jump up ^ `` Alaska Museum - Wells Fargo History ''. Jump up ^ Lawrence M. Fisher ( January 16, 1988 ). `` Wells Fargo to Buy Barclays in California ''. New York Times. Jump up ^ Saul Hansell ( January 25, 1996 ). `` Wells Fargo Wins Battle for First Interstate ''. New York Times. Jump up ^ `` Wells Fargo and Norwest to Merge ''. Wellsfargo.com. June 8, 1998. Retrieved 2012 - 03 - 13. Jump up ^ `` Wells Fargo to buy NBA ''. Juneau Empire. December 22, 1999. Jump up ^ `` Wells Fargo and Norwest to Merge ''. Wellsfargo.com. June 8, 1998. Retrieved 2012 - 03 - 13. Jump up ^ `` H.D. Vest to be acquired by Internet company Blucora for $580 million ''. Investment News. October 15, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Wells Fargo to Acquire CIT 's Construction Unit '' ( Press release ). PRNewswire. June 21, 2007. Jump up ^ `` Wells Fargo, Greater Bay Bancorp Agree to Merge '' ( Press release ). PRNewswire. May 4, 2007. Jump up ^ `` Wells Fargo Gobbles Up Greater Bay Bancorp ''. New York Times. May 7, 2007. Jump up ^ `` Wells to acquire United Bancorp of Wyoming ''. San Francisco Business Times. January 15, 2008. Jump up ^ Chad Eric Watt ( August 13, 2008 ). `` Wells Fargo to acquire Century Bank ''. Dallas Business Journal. Retrieved February 2, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Wells Fargo Acquires North Coast Surety Insurance Services ''. Reuters ( Press release ). Business Wire. April 17, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Wells Fargo to Acquire Merlin Securities, LLC '' ( Press release ). Wells Fargo. April 27, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Wells Fargo to Buy Prime Brokerage Firm ''. New York Times. April 27, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Wells Fargo Shares Inches Higher ''. Investing.com. Retrieved 15 March 2017. American Banking Giant To Stop Broker Bonuses And Mortgages Programs In The Middle Of $185 Million - Fine Recovery As Bank Faces More Charges Jump up ^ Mathew Kish ( May 1, 2017 ). `` Controversial Wells Fargo executive announces retirement ''. Portland Business Journal. Jump up ^ `` Wells Fargo agrees to buy Wachovia ; Citi objects ''. Associated Press. USA Today. October 4, 2008. Retrieved October 4, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Court tilts Wachovia fight toward Wells ''. October 5, 2008. Retrieved October 5, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Court tilts Wachovia fight toward Wells Fargo ''. Jump up ^ `` Wells Fargo plans to buy Wachovia ; Citi ends talks ''. Associated Press. USA Today. October 9, 2008. Retrieved October 11, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Capital Purchase Program Transaction Report '' ( PDF ). November 17, 2008. Retrieved January 4, 2009. Jump up ^ Landler, Mark & Dash, Eric ( October 15, 2008 ). `` Drama Behind a $250 billion Banking Deal ''. The New York Times. Retrieved February 4, 2009. Jump up ^ `` News Releases ''. Wells Fargo. December 18, 2009. Retrieved December 30, 2012. Jump up ^ `` First Union To Expand Investment Banking Capabilities With Acquisition Of Bowles Hollowell Conner '' ( Press release ). PRNewswire. March 10, 1998. Jump up ^ Ahmed, Azam ( August 15, 2011 ). `` Date 15 Aug 2011 ''. Dealbook.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2012 - 03 - 13. Jump up ^ Rothacker, Rick ( 2011 - 08 - 04 ). `` Wells Fargo Securities to occupy new uptown space CharlotteObserver.com & The Charlotte Observer Newspaper ''. Charlotteobserver.com. Retrieved 2012 - 03 - 13. Jump up ^ `` Newsweek : HP top ' green ' company ''. Silicon Valley Business Journal. September 25, 2009. Retrieved 5 August 2015. Jump up ^ `` Wells Fargo mortgage consultant team joins Century 21 Ludecke, Inc. ''. Monrovia Weekly. January 22, 2013. Retrieved August 5, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Wells Fargo Environmental Forum ''. Blog.wellsfargo.com. Retrieved June 12, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Illinois Files Bias Suit Against Wells Fargo ''. Reuters.com. 2009 - 07 - 31. Retrieved December 30, 2012. Jump up ^ Michael Powell ( June 6, 2009 ). Bank Accused of Pushing Mortgage Deals on Blacks. The New York Times. Retrieved May 4, 2015. Jump up ^ Smith, Michael ( June 29, 2010 ). `` Banks Financing Mexico Gangs Admitted in Wells Fargo Deal ''. Bloomberg. Retrieved December 6, 2011. Jump up ^ Gelles, Jeff ( August 15, 2010 ). `` Consumer 10.0 : How Wells Fargo held up debit - card customers ''. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Jump up ^ Numerian ( August 12, 2010 ). `` The checking account scam -- How Wells Fargo gouged its customers ''. The Agonist. Retrieved August 15, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Wells Fargo loses consumer case over overdraft fees ''. Los Angeles Times. August 10, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Joint State - Federal Mortgage Servicing Settlement FAQ ''. NMS. Retrieved 15 June 2015. Jump up ^ `` Mortgage Plan Gives Billions to Homeowners, but With Exceptions ''. The New York Times. February 10, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Wells Fargo Slapped With $3.1 Million Fine For ' Reprehensible ' Handling Of One Mortgage ''. The Huffington Post. Retrieved December 28, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Scribd ''. Scribd.com. Retrieved December 28, 2014. Jump up ^ Jones, supra Jump up ^ `` Wells Fargo Racial Discrimination Investigation Launched By HUD ''. The Huffington Post. Retrieved December 28, 2014. Jump up ^ Broadwater, Luke ( July 13, 2012 ). `` Wells Fargo agrees to pay $175 M settlement in pricing discrimination suit ''. The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2012 - 07 - 13. ^ Jump up to : Yost, Pete ( July 13, 2012 ). `` Wells Fargo settles discrimination case ''. Associated Press and the Express. access - date = requires url = ( help ) Jump up ^ Suris, Oscar. `` Wells Fargo Announces Settlement with U.S. Department of Justice Regarding Mortgages ''. Wells Fargo Bank. Retrieved 2012 - 07 - 13. Jump up ^ Blumenthal, Jeff ( August 14, 2012 ), `` Wells Fargo paying $6.5 M to settle charges with SEC '', Philadelphia Business Journal, bizjournals.com, retrieved September 9, 2012 Jump up ^ Schroeder, Peter ( August 14, 2012 ). `` Wells Fargo to pay $6.5 million to settle SEC charges ''. The Hill. `` On The Money '' blog. Retrieved August 15, 2012. Jump up ^ Raice, Shayndi ( October 10, 2012 ). `` U.S. Sues Wells Fargo for Faulty Mortgages ''. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 10, 2012. Jump up ^ `` U.S. Accuses Bank of America of a ' Brazen ' Mortgage Fraud ''. The New York Times. October 24, 2012. Retrieved October 26, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Wells Fargo, QBE Agree on $19.3 M Force - Placed Settlement ''. Property Casualty 360. May 17, 2013. Jump up ^ Freifeld, Karen. `` Wells Fargo to pay $4 million for violations on credit card accounts : New York ''. Reuters. Retrieved 5 February 2015. Jump up ^ Short, Kevin ( October 9, 2014 ). `` Wells Fargo Employee Calls Out CEO 's Pay, Requests Company - Wide Raise In Brave Email ''. The Huffington Post. Jump up ^ Schafer, Leo ( October 15, 2014 ). `` Schafer : Wells Fargo missed mark after worker requested $10,000 raises for all ''. Star Tribune. Minneapolis. Jump up ^ Portero, Ashley. `` 30 Major U.S. Corporations Paid More to Lobby Congress Than Income Taxes, 2008 -- 2010 ''. International Business Times. Archived from the original on December 26, 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2011. Jump up ^ Christopher Helman. `` Wells Fargo - In Photos : The 25 U.S. Corporations That Pay The Highest Taxes ''. Forbes. Jump up ^ Eric W. Dolan ( November 10, 2011 ). `` Wells Fargo takes heat over investments in private prison industry ''. news, commentary. The Raw Story. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012. Retrieved November 8, 2012. The advocacy group Small Business United on Thursday called on Wells Fargo to provide a full accounting of investments related to private prisons and immigrant detention centers. Jump up ^ Greenwald, Glenn ( April 12, 2012 ). `` Wells Fargo 's prison cash cow ''. Salon.com. Retrieved November 8, 2012. The bailed - out bank has used its taxpayer money to invest in private prisons. Jump up ^ Cervantes - Gautschi, Peter ( November 2, 2012 ). `` Correction Wells Fargo private prison divestment ''. National Prison Divestment Campaign. Retrieved November 8, 2012. In a press release dated October 24, 2012, we erroneously stated that Wells Fargo divested 75 % of its Geo stock. We regret the error. Jump up ^ Charles A. Gallagher, Cameron D. Lippard ( eds ). Race and Racism in the United States ( 4 volumes ) : An Encyclopedia of the American Mosaic. ABC - CLIO, 2014. p. 970. ISBN 1440803455 Jump up ^ `` UPDATE 2 - Ex-Wells Fargo trader beats SEC insider trading charges ''. reuters.com. September 14, 2015. Retrieved January 18, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Ex-Wells Fargo Analyst Settles Insider Trading Case ''. law360.com. May 28, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Wells Fargo fined $185 M for fake accounts ; 5,300 were fired ''. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 09. Jump up ^ Glazer, Emily ( September 9, 2016 ). `` Wells Fargo Fined for Sales Scam ''. The Wall Street Journal. p. A1. ISSN 0099 - 9660. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 09. Jump up ^ Gandel, Stephen ( September 12, 2016 ). `` Wells Fargo Exec Who Headed Phony Accounts Unit Collected $125 Million ''. Fortune. Retrieved 13 September 2016. Jump up ^ Corkery, Michael ( September 20, 2016 ). `` Illegal Activity at Wells Fargo May Have Begun Earlier, Chief Says ''. New York Times. Retrieved 20 September 2016. Jump up ^ Roberts, Deon. `` Wells Fargo reveals latest post-scandal customer traffic numbers ''. CharlotteObserver.com. Charlotte Observer. Retrieved 5 December 2016. Jump up ^ Roberts, Deon. `` Wells Fargo loses Better Business Bureau accreditation ''. The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte Observer. Retrieved 28 October 2016. Jump up ^ `` S&P Lowers Outlook on Wells Fargo ( WFC ) to Negative ; Ratings Affirmed ''. Street Insider. October 18, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Massachusetts latest to bar Wells Fargo as underwriter ''. Reuters. October 18, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` Wells Fargo to Claw Back $75 Million From 2 Former Executives ''. The New York Times. April 10, 2017. Retrieved April 11, 2017. Jump up ^ Aubin, Dena. `` Wells Fargo agrees to $50 million settlement over homeowner fees ''. Reuters. Reuters. Retrieved 10 November 2016. Jump up ^ Fuller, Emily. `` How to Contact the 17 Banks Funding the Dakota Access Pipeline ''. YES ! Magazine. Retrieved 2016 - 11 - 26. Jump up ^ Chappell, Bill ( February 8, 2017 ). `` 2 Cities To Pull More Than $3 Billion From Wells Fargo Over Dakota Access Pipeline ''. 2 Cities To Pull More Than $3 Billion From Wells Fargo Over Dakota Access Pipeline Jump up ^ `` FINRA fines Wells Fargo, others $14 mln for records ' changeable format ''. Reuters. Jump up ^ Downey, John ( February 26, 2009 ). `` Duke moves HQs to Wachovia tower -- Charlotte Business Journal ''. Charlotte.bizjournals.com. Retrieved June 12, 2010. References `` Deadwood Stage ( Whip Crack Away, Calamity Jane ) Lyrics ''. lyricsfreak.com. Retrieved July 6, 2017. `` Frequently Asked Questions ''. Wells Fargo History. Retrieved October 26, 2005. `` Is there a way to look up relatives who may have worked as stagecoach drivers for Wells Fargo ? ''. Wells Fargo History. Retrieved October 26, 2005. Mehta, Julie ( January 31, 1996 ). `` Merger means a bigger bank but uncertainty for employees ''. Cupertino Courier. Retrieved October 26, 2005. Segal, Dave ( July 13, 2003 ). `` Both CB Bancshares ' Ronald Migita and Central Pacific 's Clint Arnoldus have been through bruising bank battles before ''. Honolulu Star - Bulletin. Retrieved October 26, 2005. Svaldi, Aldo ( June 12, 1998 ). `` Wells Fargo learned hard way about deals ''. Denver Business Journal. Retrieved October 26, 2005. Baker, David R. ( December 19, 2004 ). `` When hostile takeovers backfire ''. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 26, 2005. In July 2007, Wells Fargo Insurance Services Inc. was ranked fifth in Business Insurance 's world 's largest brokers list. `` Wells Fargo to purchase Placer Sierra Bank, owner of four Bank of Lodi branches ''. Lodi News - Sentinel. January 9, 2007. Retrieved July 6, 2017. Said, Carolyn ( May 5, 2007 ). `` Wells Fargo buys bank / Greater Bay has 41 branches in the Bay Area ''. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved June 12, 2010. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wells Fargo. Official website Business data for Wells Fargo & Co : Google Finance Yahoo ! Finance Reuters SEC filings Wells Fargo History Founders Henry Wells William Fargo Board of directors John Stumpf ( Chairman and CEO ) Timothy Sloan Patricia Callahan Kevin Rhein Michael Loughlin James Strother Richard Levy David Carroll Michael Heid David Hoyt Divisions Wells Fargo Advisors Wells Fargo Bank Wells Fargo Financial Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Wells Fargo Insurance Services Wells Fargo Securities Historical components ABD Insurance & Financial Atlantic National Bank A.G. Edwards Bache & Co. Bank of Baltimore Bank of North America Bowles Hollowell Connor & Co. Century Bank CoreStates Financial Crocker National Bank Evergreen Investments Fidelity Trust First Commerce Bancshares First Interstate Bancorp First Pennsylvania Bank First Security First Union Florida National Bank Garden State National Bank Georgia Railroad Bank Golden West Financial Halsey, Stuart & Co. National Bank of Alaska Norwest Prudential Securities Southeast Bank SouthTrust Wachovia Wachovia Securities Former components H.D. Vest Pamlico Capital Tillie the All - Time Teller Buildings One Wells Fargo Center Wells Fargo Center ( Denver ) Wells Fargo Center ( Jacksonville ) Wells Fargo Center ( Los Angeles ) Wells Fargo Center ( Minneapolis ) Wells Fargo Center ( Portland, OR ) Wells Fargo Center ( Sacramento ) Wells Fargo Center ( Salt Lake City ) Wells Fargo Center ( Seattle ) Wells Fargo Place Wells Fargo Plaza ( El Paso ) Wells Fargo Plaza ( Houston ) Wells Fargo Plaza ( Phoenix ) Wells Fargo Center ( Philadelphia ) Wells Fargo Tower ( Birmingham ) Wells Fargo Tower ( Colorado Springs ) Duke Energy Center History History of Wells Fargo Wells Fargo account fraud scandal Category Commons Wikiversity 50 largest banks and bank holding companies in the United States Ally American Express Bank of America Bank of New York Mellon Barclays * BB&T BBVA * BMO * BNP Paribas * Capital One Charles Schwab CIT Citigroup Citizens Comerica Credit Suisse * Deutsche Bank * Discover E-Trade Fifth Third Goldman Sachs HSBC * Huntington JPMorgan Chase KeyBank M&T Mizuho * Morgan Stanley MUFG Union Bank * Mutual of Omaha New York Community Northern Trust People 's United PNC Popular Royal Bank of Canada * Regions Banco Santander * State Farm State Street SunTrust SVB Synchrony Toronto Dominion * TIAA U.S. Bancorp UBS * USAA Wells Fargo Zions * indicates the U.S. subsidiary of a non-U.S. bank. Inclusion on this list is based on U.S. assets only, and is current as of March 31, 2017. Investment banks Bank Divisions of universal banks Bulge bracket Bank of America Merrill Lynch Barclays Citi Institutional Clients Group Credit Suisse Deutsche Bank Corporate and Investment Bank J.P. Morgan & Co. ( J.P. Morgan Cazenove ) UBS Investment Bank Other Berenberg Bank BMO Capital Markets BOC International BNP Paribas Corporate & Institutional Banking Brown Shipley CIBC World Markets CITIC Securities ( CLSA ) Commerzbank Corporates & Markets Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank Daiwa Securities Capital Markets EverBank World Markets Harris Williams & Co. 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Lloyds Bank PLC MashreqBank psc ( UAE ) Royal Bank of Scotland PLC UBS AG Wells Fargo Bank NA Non-EU Bank of China ( CHN ) VIAF : 132150619 ISNI : 0000 0001 2229 8176 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wells_Fargo&oldid=806270579 '' Categories : Wells Fargo 1852 establishments in New York ( state ) Banks based in California Banks established in 1852 Systemically important financial institutions Companies based in San Francisco Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Corporate scandals Financial District, San Francisco Mortgage lenders of the United States Online brokerages Hidden categories : Articles needing more detailed references All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from March 2012 Pages using citations with accessdate and no URL Use American English from January 2015 All Wikipedia articles written in American English Use mdy dates from July 2011 Pages using deprecated image syntax Pages using infobox company with unsupported parameters Articles needing additional references from March 2012 All articles needing additional references Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Español فارسی Français Gaeilge 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Lietuvių Nederlands 日本 語 Piemontèis Polski Português Română Русский Simple English Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Українська اردو Winaray 粵語 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 20 October 2017, at 21 : 32. 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Question: are bank of america and wells fargo connected
Answer: 1987: Wells Fargo acquired the personal trust business of Bank of America