Stock Market Symbol: Wfc (NYSE) Industry: Banking,

Stock Market Symbol: WFC (NYSE)

Industry: Banking, Lending, Finance

Primary Competitors: Bank of America, Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, U.S. Bank, Smaller and local credit unions and banks.

Management Team:

John G. Stumpf, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

Timothy J. Sloan, Senior EVP, Chief Financial Officer

Patricia R. Callahan, Senior EVP, Chief Administrative Officer

Kevin A. Rhein, Senior EVP, Chief Information Officer

Michael J. Loughlin, Senior EVP and Chief Risk Officer

Richard D. Levy, EVP, Controller

James M. Strother, Senior EVP, General Counsel

David M. Carroll, Senior EVP, Wealth, Brokerage & Retirement Services

Michael J. Heid, President, Home Mortgage and EVP, Wells Fargo & Company

David A. Hoyt, Senior EVP, Wholesale Banking

Avid Modjtabai, Senior EVP, Consumer Lending

Carrie L. Tolstedt, Senior EVP, Community Banking

Employee Recruitment and Development

Training for low-level employees begins with working at the counter as tellers, but WFC is committed to giving its low-level employees a chance to become brokers because this builds a successful wealth management business. There is little in the way of recruitment except for higher-level employees then training is conducted in-house for all employees. As is the case with most banking organizations, there is also no union labor at Wells Fargo. Research reveals that there is no unionization of U.S. banking employees, but it seems to be a big topic in Europe.

Wells Fargo Information Technology

As with any modern banker, Wells Fargo has an extensive information technology (IT) department. The primary purpose for an IT department in banking is security. As has happened many times in the past, a hacker can get past fire walls and gain access to customer information and, sometimes, funds. It is the function of the IT department to stay ahead of possible break-ins by acquiring new technology that will allow the bank to keep its customer's accounts safe. Wells Fargo has been one of the leaders in new information technology in the industry.

2011 Profit Level: $15.87 billion.

The company has had a large increase in deposits in the last year due to the increasing viability of the economy. Thus, Wells Fargo is forecasting 2012 to be an even better year financially.

Company Strategy:

Wells Fargo grows its business by convincing people to deposit their money with the bank, and most expect some return on that money. The primary strategy that Wells Fargo uses is to make safe investments with the capital entrusted to the company in bonds and securities. Customers are also given the choice of investing in riskier ventures in money market accounts and other mutual fund-type vehicles. Also, Wells Fargo invests extensively in the real estate market (as the largest home loan originator in the U.S.), which has become a safer investment over the past year. This has allowed the company to increase fourth quarter earnings from $3.41 billion in 2010 to $4.11 billion in 2011.

Stock Market Listing Company: NYSE

Stock Trending:

From an examination of the stock trend chart it can be seen that nine months ago the stock started to fall. During the fall and winter of 2011 it reached a yearly low point and then began climbing to its new yearly high. The stock has maintained relatively stable since about the beginning of March. A logical explanation of this trending pattern could be that people are just more willing to deposit money in the spring. Fall brings college tuition and the winter brings the holiday season which could have caused a downturn in the stock price because deposits were down. Also, home starts and home buying slows in the fall and winter months.

Type of Company: Wells Fargo is a multination corporation.

Products and Services:

Since WFC is a financial services company they offer the products and services typical to that industry. The products include checking and savings accounts of various types, CDs, and other means of saving. Services offered include credit, various types and degrees of loans and financial counseling.

Suppliers and Vendors: As a financial services company there are no suppliers except for the customers, and no vendors.

Customers: Customers come from a broad range of people and businesses. The company services deposits from small investors to multinational corporations. There primary business now is home loans, and since the housing market is getting better they are making more loans.

Potential Competitors

It is difficult to see any new competition for any of the large banking conglomerates, but there could be some activity from credit unions. Because are more interested in earning more interests than the large banks will pay, more people are moving toward credit unions now. Because these institutions offer the same services as a bank with additional specialized services, there could be greater competition from this sector in the future.