Wells Fargo was at a time an icon in the banking world an honest and folksy San Francisco based bank that made it big on Wall Street. It was at a time the most valuable bank in the US by stock evaluation.
But it all came tumbling down when it was learned that serious misconduct bank-wide all the way from the top down had been happening for decades.
For 2020 may the bank be broken into several companies and be small enough to manage.
I'm looking forward to the new year time for a massive change.
Yeah there were never any good old days after Norwest bought WF in 1998 and brought over its corrupt management from the midwest there was no going back. Kovacevich, Stumpf, Tolstedt, and the rest of them creatures.
For employees of WF prior to the late 90s they can tell you if the corruption was there or not.
They will need to clear out those working in same position doing same job for 20’years. They are no use and have no ideas at all.
Pretty pathetic for sure They are allowed to work there.
Wells was never “an icon in the banking world an honest and folksy San Francisco based bank that made it big on Wall Street” It was a corrupt to the core shell game and after its brief period of “apparent” greatness the shell game collapsed and the truth came out. There was only corruption behind the curtain. You who were there should be the last to to tout them as briefly great.
It is between the "good honest employees" at Wells Fargo and those "bad guys" at Wells Fargo, who are hopefully no longer employed by Wells Fargo. It is difficult for the "good guys" at Wells Fargo to imagine how there were also "bad guys" at Wells Fargo. A conflict of interest on the part of the "good" versus "bad" Wells Fargo employees. Sad the "bad guys" have brought the bank down with them to their level of dishonesty. The "good guys" are trying to survive it and move forward in a positive direction, doing the "right thing" for the customers. A few rotten apples spoil the entire barrel.
Yes, Wells Fargo has hurt a lot of people, from the low-level employees who were pressured by their managers to open fake accounts, and then fired for it, to the ones who didn’t open fake accounts, and got fired because they didn’t make their quotas, to the customers who lost their homes due to Wells Fargo’s “mistakes”, to the thousands of hard-working people who have lost and will lose their jobs through no fault of their own, to pay for the criminal activities of management.
And that’s not even the tip of the iceberg. They’ve harmed their customers in myriad ways and they’ve harmed their team members. They’ve harmed their stockholders.
And the only ones who have been punished in any way are the team members at the bottom of the totem pole. The ones who are now unemployable because they took the fall for the executives who set the impossible quotas.
All in all, I don’t think there are too many who feel sorry for Wells Fargo.
I don't feel sorry for this bank at all as early as a few months ago a newspaper article documented the plight of fired branch employees who were still trying to clear their name.
Also, remember that WF fired employees who refused to steal money and turned around and submitted fake FINRA reports stating they were fired for stealing money so the bank can cover its tracks. The entire business must be destroyed and they know it that's why they hired Chatlie Scharf who's gonna sell off the company into parts.
Yes there are still very many long time Wells Fargo customers who have not taken the trouble to leave.
Switching banks is a hassle. That’s one of the reasons Wells was always so big on cross-selling.
But how many new customers are they signing up? How many young people are choosing Wells Fargo? Of course it’s hard to know because so many accounts are fake. But who is coming to Wells Fargo now?
Those customers were in a North Carolina legacy Wachovia branch. WF bought Wachovia in 2008 when Wachovia was taken over by the government. Those customers are loyal to Wachovia and its a small town branch without substitute banks to choose from unlike in big cities. Remember the majority of the fraud was in CA, Arizona, and TX where WF already had branches prior to acquiring Wachovia.
I told you the NC banking center that is not my primary "go to" banking center, but one in some more remote NC location, was absolutely packed with customers the other day, right before Christmas. The parking lot was totally full, people were in line at the drive through ATM. Other people were using the outdoor ATM. Other customers were inside the banking center. It was "too crowded" and I did not want to wait in line to make a monetary transaction that requires a bank teller that I could do on another less crowded day. There are still very many Wells Fargo customers.
To the poster below spot on.
Charlie’s job is not that complicated. It’s not that hard to cut jobs and sell off divisions. The hardest part will be convincing the government watchdogs that he’s cleaning up the crooked culture.
Why did it take so long to find someone to take the job? Because that’s not what most people strive to have on their list of accomplishments as CEO. It takes a certain kind of person - the kind who is in it for a short term payday.
It's a long time ago since the Crocker Bank days in San Francisco.
My favorite commercial the song was written for this bank's commercial before it was sung by Karen Carpenter.
https://youtu.be/cBCjvwzjLyU
Charlie Scharf has one tough job ahead of him. Lol.
The bank can turn it around eventually but got kicked too hard in the gut in the past 4 years. I worked inside the bank in their risk management area and their "living will" or plan to survive another financial meltdown like 2007 and 2008 is to break the bank up into several businesses. The Community Banking division will go back to being a local branch with checking and savings accounts and keep the Wells Fargo name. The other divisions will be sold off and run independently of one another and not have the WF name.
Believe it we are due for another recession this coming year.
From the looks of the TOTALLY packed Wells Fargo banking center branch that I drove up to yesterday there are still very many loyal Wells Fargo customers. I was going to go into the Wells Fargo banking center to exchange some rolled up coins for money. However due to the HUGE crowd of people in and around the banking center I changed my mind, do it another day hoping it is not so crowded with a probably very long wait. Apparently these people like banking with Wells Fargo these days. I do too.
2020 is full of peril for Wells Fargo as Democrats take charge.
https://finance.yahoo.com/amphtml/news/wells-fargo-set-political-trouble-135107031.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9uZXdzLmdvb2dsZS5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAMEvpMbDE2TxwEbRaytkHZhKj5yXPT6YBa0yMFbiql6KFmKjVIidHPglr2RYvsoKRG33pCMyb49_bvW8dl7_lp2aR2lfCCc1_Z1qnb6fbqw1GKTaCb6SfhGa4tykd4nAxHhKrBcxQzE1ee4urfppLZH91E7oqu6ovlctLHIkfh-o
(Bloomberg) – Cowen is forecasting trouble for Wells Fargo & Co. through next year, with mounting risk as Democrats aim for the bank.
Analyst Jaret Seiberg flagged remarks by House Financial Services Chairman Maxine Waters, who last week indicated she’ll subject Wells Fargo to extra attention. That includes calling for more testimony and focusing on the board and new CEO Charles Scharf, Seiberg said.
“Wells Fargo does not appear close to putting its Washington troubles behind it,” Seiberg wrote in a note.
Given the tension, he said it’s hard to see how the Federal Reserve could vote to lift the asset cap it imposed on the bank next year. And he added that the Fed lifting its growth restrictions might not matter much as the Comptroller of the Currency likely has separate, confidential enforcement actions in effect.
Seiberg pointed to an even “worse outcome” brewing for Wells Fargo: Getting dragged into the 2020 presidential election.
“For now, Democrats like Elizabeth Warren are mostly focused on private equity and big tech,” he said. “Calls to break up big banks or impose a separation between commercial and investment banking have been muted. That could change if attacks by House Democrats get traction.” Democrats winning would mean the bank “will be even more exposed to onerous policy developments,” Seiberg warned.
Wells Fargo shares climbed 0.6% in pre-market trading on Monday. Other big banks gained as well, with Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. both rising 0.3%, while U.S. futures edged higher, with volumes subdued as investors count down to the holiday break.
On Friday, Credit Suisse’s Susan Roth Katzke said banks face a “source of uncertainty” with the 2020 election. She noted bank stocks have historically outperformed in the year leading up to a presidential election, while “risk is heightened by polarization of policy and macro uncertainty,” with a focus on regulation.
Also last week, Odeon’s D–k Bove downgraded Wells Fargo to sell from hold as the bank “appears to be directionless at the moment,” even with its compelling consumer business. Wells Fargo may ultimately “fashion a business plan that has merit, but it does not have one now,” Bove wrote in a note.
(Michael Bloomberg is also seeking the Democratic nomination. He is the founder and majority shareholder of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.)
To contact the reporter on this story: Felice Maranz in New York at fmaranz@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Catherine Larkin at clarkin4@bloomberg.net, Will Daley
To the poster below your are correct there were never any good old days. It was always a cut throat company.
Judging by the messages posted by employees on the news articles on Teamworks etc. I’d say a good size sample is stuck in the past and wishing/hoping for the good old days. Those were a facade, so that makes it even more sad.
Moved on? Oh yes. Tell that to the board members who are slated to testify before the house financial services committee in 2020.
I bet they wish Maxine Waters would move on.
Oh shut up already! This is what you do for fun? Post this useless dribble on here. Get a life, move on. Trust me, WF, the customers and the majority of the other team members have moved on. Let it go.
Happy holidays.
Totally agree. A breakup of the bank into more manageable sized-assets would be good. There are parts of the portfolio that would be attractive to some other financial houses - both domestically and internationally.