Wells Fargo facts for kids
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Company logo since 2019
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Wells Fargo's office in San Francisco, California
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| ISIN | ISIN: [https://isin.toolforge.org/?language=en&isin=US9497461015 US9497461015] |
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| Founded | January 24, 1929 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. (as Northwest Bancorporation) April 1983 (as Norwest Corporation) November 2, 1998 (as Wells Fargo & Company) |
| Founders | (Wells Fargo Bank) |
| Headquarters | Sioux Falls, South Dakota, U.S. (legal); 30 Hudson Yards New York, NY 10001 U.S. (executive) |
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Number of locations
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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| Revenue |  US$73.8 billion (2022) |
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Operating income
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US$14.9 billion (2022) |
| US$13.2 billion (2022) |
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| Total assets | US$1.875 trillion (2022) |
| Total equity | US$178.4 billion (2022) |
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Number of employees
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238,698 (2022) |
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Wells Fargo & Company is a big financial company that works all over the world. It operates in 35 countries and helps over 70 million customers. It is one of the "Big Four Banks" in the United States. The other three are JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup.
The main part of Wells Fargo is called Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.. This bank is the fourth largest in the United States based on its total money and property. It also has a lot of customer deposits and is very valuable. Wells Fargo has over 8,000 branches and 13,000 ATMs. It helps many people get home loans. Wells Fargo is ranked 47th among the largest companies in the U.S. on the Fortune 500 list.
Besides banking, Wells Fargo also helps businesses get equipment. It also helps people manage their money and buy and sell stocks. Wells Fargo tries to get its customers to use many of its different services. This led to some problems in the past with how they sold services.
Wells Fargo has offices in big cities like London, Paris, Tokyo, and Shanghai. It also has large support offices in India and the Philippines with many employees.
Wells Fargo operates under Charter No. 1. This was the very first national bank license given in the United States back in 1863. The Wells Fargo company we know today was formed in 1998. This happened when the original Wells Fargo & Company joined with another company called Norwest Corporation. The new company kept the famous Wells Fargo name. It also became a bank that served customers from one side of the U.S. to the other when it bought Wachovia in 2008.
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The Story of Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company was started in 1852 by Henry Wells and William Fargo. They also helped start American Express. They created Wells Fargo to offer banking and delivery services in California. This was during the California Gold Rush, when California was growing fast.
One of their first and most important jobs was moving gold. They also delivered mail faster and cheaper than the U.S. Mail. American Express was not interested in working in California at that time.
By the end of the Gold Rush, Wells Fargo was a very important company in the West. They shipped a lot of gold and delivered mail and supplies. They also lent money to the Butterfield Overland Mail Company. This company ran a long mail route across the Southwest.
In 1860, the U.S. government could not pay the Overland Mail Company. This meant the company could not pay back its loans to Wells Fargo. So, Wells Fargo took over the mail route. Wells Fargo then ran the western part of the famous Pony Express.
Six years later, Wells Fargo combined with other stagecoach lines. They all became one big company under the Wells Fargo name.
In 1872, Lloyd Tevis became the president of Wells Fargo. He stayed in this job until 1892.
In 1905, Wells Fargo separated its banking and delivery businesses. The bank part of Wells Fargo joined with another bank to form the Wells Fargo Nevada National Bank.
During World War I, the U.S. government took over Wells Fargo's delivery business. It became a government agency. After the war, it became a private company again.
Over the years, Wells Fargo's bank changed its name a few times. In 1923, it became Wells Fargo Bank & Union Trust Company. In 1954, it shortened its name to Wells Fargo Bank. It then merged with another company in 1958. In 1962, it changed its name back to Wells Fargo Bank.
In 1968, Wells Fargo became a federal bank and was called Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.. A year later, a larger company called Wells Fargo & Company was formed. Wells Fargo Bank became its main part.
In 1983, a large amount of money, $7.1 million, was stolen from a Wells Fargo armored truck depot. This was the biggest bank theft in the U.S. at that time.
Through the 1980s and 1990s, Wells Fargo bought many other banks. For example, in 1986, it bought Crocker National Bank. In 1996, it bought First Interstate Bancorp for a lot of money.
In May 1995, Wells Fargo was the first major U.S. financial company to offer banking services online.
In 1998, Wells Fargo Bank was bought by Norwest Corporation. The combined company decided to keep the more famous Wells Fargo name.
After this, Wells Fargo continued to buy other companies. In 2000, it bought National Bank of Alaska. In 2007, it bought Greater Bay Bancorp.
In 2008, Wells Fargo bought Wachovia, another large bank. This made Wells Fargo a bank that served customers across the entire country.
In 2008, the U.S. government helped banks during a tough financial time. Wells Fargo received $25 billion from the government. By 2009, Wells Fargo had paid back all of this money.
In 2015, Wells Fargo Rail bought another rail services company. Wells Fargo also bought some other business loan and equipment financing units.
In 2017, Wells Fargo announced that customers could use their smartphones to make payments. This included using apps like Wells Fargo Wallet, Android Pay, and Samsung Pay.
In 2018, Wells Fargo sold all of its bank branches in Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. In September 2018, the company said it would reduce its number of employees to save money.
In March 2019, the CEO, Tim Sloan, stepped down. This happened during a time when the company was dealing with issues about how it handled customer accounts. A new CEO, Charles Scharf, was announced in September 2019.
In 2020, the company sold its student loan business. In 2021, it sold its Canadian equipment finance business. Also in 2021, Wells Fargo sold its asset management division, which managed money for others. This division was renamed Allspring Global Investments.
Caring for the Environment
In 2022, Wells Fargo announced a goal to reduce pollution from companies it lends money to in the oil and gas industry. They want to cut these emissions by 26% by 2030. Some people say these goals are hard to reach because Wells Fargo is a big lender to companies that use fossil fuels. However, the company has promised to have "net zero" pollution from its loans by 2050. This means they aim for the total amount of pollution from their loans to be zero. Wells Fargo has also said it will not fund new oil and gas projects in the Arctic. They also help fund projects that use renewable energy, like solar and wind power.
Wells Fargo History Museum
Wells Fargo has a museum in San Francisco. It shows old stagecoaches, photos, gold nuggets, and tools from mining. You can also see things from the Pony Express and old bank items. In 2015, some robbers broke into the museum and stole gold nuggets. Wells Fargo used to have other museums, but they are now closed.
Helping Communities
Wells Fargo gives money to help different causes. On March 2, 2022, Wells Fargo gave $1 million to the American Red Cross. This money was used to help people from Ukraine who had to leave their homes because of the war.
In April 2022, the Wells Fargo foundation promised $210 million to help people from different backgrounds own homes. Part of this money will help lower mortgage rates and reduce costs for minority homeowners.
In April 2023, Wells Fargo started a 10-year partnership with TD Jakes Group. They plan to create communities where people of all income levels can live. Wells Fargo has promised about $1 billion for these projects. The first project will build homes and shops in Georgia.
In December 2023, Darlene Goins became the head of Wells Fargo's charity work. She helps low-income people and those without bank accounts get access to banking services and learn about money.
See also
In Spanish: Wells Fargo para niños
- List of Wells Fargo directors
- List of Wells Fargo presidents
- Wells Fargo Arena
- Wells Fargo Center
- Big Four banks
