Be real. Wells Fargo made money in up years and bad years. It was due to the various lines of business they had. It was a highly conservative and well balanced business plan. Norwest Bank, and then Wells Fargo, was a premier place to work and to put your trust. Until the new management and "new profit" centers were brought in. At that point, the bank, which had been steadily profitable, and a great place to work, began to break down. New managers, who's only thought was the latest FAD, were put in place. Accelerate that to today's situation, and you can see that Wells Fargo has become just another Citi, just another big corporation that is only organized to make money for shareholders. Many long time employees have left. Many have been terminated. Many have been laid off.
You can see where this is going. Fast forward to some unknown economic issue, and the bank is caught flat-footed. Losses. Huge losses. Due to new direction and lack of diversification. All straight line responsibility to the "new management" that have arrived, similar to locusts. Yes, locusts. You see, they bring their fellows. you know, the "yes men" who give good subservience but don't call out the risks. And then, everyone is surprised when the dominoes fall.
What a joke.
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@ag Correct. I predict India.
@e3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Interstate_Bancorp
First Interstate ran into its own troubles in the late 1980s and early 1990s stemming from bad real estate loans and the severe recession in California. The bank posted losses in the hundreds of millions for 1987, 1989, and 1991. Consequently, First Interstate concentrated on rebuilding and rejuvenating its existing operations rather than acquiring new ones. A number of noncore unprofitable subsidiaries were jettisoned, including the equipment leasing unit, a government securities operation, and most of the wholesale banking unit. Rumors of a takeover of First Interstate were rife in the early 1990s before the bank recovered fully by mid-decade under the leadership of Chairman and CEO Edward M. Carson (1929–2010).[7][8] In 1994, they acquired 15 branches in Washington from the failed Great American Bank.[9]
Despite First Interstate's healthier condition, and with the banking industry consolidation in full swing, Wells Fargo made a hostile bid for First Interstate in October 1995 initially valued at $10.8 billion. Other banks came forward as potential 'white knights,' including Norwest Corporation, Bank One Corporation, and First Bank System. The latter made a serious bid for First Interstate, with the two banks reaching a formal merger agreement in November valued initially at $10.3 billion. But First Bank ran into regulatory difficulties with the way it had structured its offer and was forced to bow out of the takeover battle in mid-January 1996. Talks between Wells Fargo and First Interstate then led within days to a merger agreement for $11.3 billion in stock.[10] Wells Fargo completed the acquisition on April 1, 1996 and announced the elimination of 7,200 jobs.[11]
@ar
Wasn't it First Union Bank?
@ag
The high stock price doesn't mean WF is a good company. It means that people expect to make money off the stock. There is a world of difference. The two can be congruent, but that IMHO is rarely true.
To make the stock price rise, expenses are being cut. Staff let go. Institutional knowledge kicked to the curb. It'll work for a while. The Titanic took time to sink.
A great company would not act in this way. Ever heard the phrase, "happy cows give more milk"? Its true. We used to work long hours to ensure WF was successful. Now read the boards, and look at the morale of the staff. Its toast in the toaster, just not burnt yet. Its coming.
Why do people persist with the myth that WF took over Norwest?
If WF took over Norwest, why was Norwest's CEO the "New Wells Fargo" CEO, then his successor (also from Norwest) the next "New Wells Fargo" CEO?
Norwest bought a nationally-recognized brand name and online banking presence after Wells Fargo destroyed itself by buying First Interstate Bank. Get the facts straight.
In office 'collaboration' by greed execs is what got us the consent orders.
Ok, but wasn't it the bank with their "conservative" business that got us all the consent orders? They were all tied to banking and mortgage.
Maybe they weren't as well run as you think?
It was always going to catch up with them. The over hiring and lack of investment into tech
You people are a riot. WF has greatly reduced its risk exposure in several LOB. People who actually understand these things, namely Wall Street analysts, can see what Charlie is doing. And the stock price has reflected this.
The largest risk or threat to WF right now is mostly likely another internal scandal, allowed to take place in environment of reduced risk oversight and independence.
Indians