page_title: Wells Fargo
section_title: History of Wells Fargo Securities
hierarchical_section_title: Wells Fargo / History / Investment by US Treasury Department during 2008 financial crisis / History of Wells Fargo Securities
caption_attribution_description: English: Duke Energy Center
context_page_description: Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California, with central offices throughout the United States. It is the world's fourth-largest bank by market capitalization and the fourth largest bank in the US by total assets. Wells Fargo is ranked number 26 on the 2018 Fortune 500 rankings of the largest US corporations by total revenue.
  In July 2015, Wells Fargo became the world's largest bank by market capitalization, edging past ICBC, before slipping behind JPMorgan Chase in September 2016, in the wake of a scandal involving the creation of over 2 million fake bank accounts and illegal manipulation of other accounts by Wells Fargo employees. Wells Fargo fell behind Bank of America to third by bank deposits in 2017 and behind Citigroup to fourth by total assets in 2018. Wells Fargo is incorporated in Delaware.
  The firm's primary operating subsidiary is national bank Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., which designates its main office as Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
context_section_description: 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.
caption: Duke Energy Center in Charlotte, North Carolina home of Wells Fargo Securities[55]
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