I started at Wells in 1997. The bulk of the work related to the First Interstate acquisition was done, but there were many former First Interstate employees still in shock over the company culture shift - it was a hostile takeover after all. Some of the change was good, some bad. The same could be said for the Norwest merger and the Wachovia acquisition. Like the more recent mergers though, it felt like the name “First Interstate”was relegated to the dustbin of history.
So imagine my surprise when I saw the First Interstate name and logo on buildings in AZ. It turns out…they never really went away. First Interstate retained the rights to use the name and logo and slowly rebuilt their business in the West with Great Western Bank being their most recent acquisition.
Would First Interstate taking down Wells Fargo be the greatest come back story of all time?