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Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo
Get Quote: WFC
Financials: Latest Results
MOST ADMIRED
Top 50 rank: 14
Rank in Megabanks: 4 (Previous rank: 3*)
Overall score: 6.38
Why it's admired
Wells Fargo earned its reputation as a strong, Western U.S.-focused retail bank, shunning costly acquisitions and Wall Street. The San Francisco-based financial services company is now a national player - the nation's fourth largest with $1.3 trillion in assets - after buying troubled rival Wachovia in Oct.

But its stock slid nearly 70% since September and bad Wachovia loans led to a $2.73 billion fourth-quarter loss. After taking $25 billion in government aid, the bank drew fire for sponsoring golf tournaments and was pressured into canceling a Las Vegas business meeting critics considered an employee casino junket. Still, CEO John Stumpf hopes to continue the cautious, regional mentality that Wells Fargo is admired for - it's what they know best. -L.D.

Address: 420 Montgomery St.
San Francisco, CA 94104
Phone: 866-249-3302
Website: www.wellsfargo.com
Nine key attributes of reputation Industry rank
Innovation 2
People management 5
Use of corporate assets 2
Social responsibility 2
Quality of management 1
Financial soundness 1
Long-term investment 1
Quality of products/services 2
Global competitiveness 14
Industry: Megabanks
Most Admired
1 Bank of America 6.69
2 J.P. Morgan Chase 6.53
2 Credit Suisse Group 6.53
4 Wells Fargo 6.38
5 Deutsche Bank 6.03
6 ING Group 5.63
7 BNP Paribas 4.89
Contenders
Rank Company Overall score
8 Société Générale 4.88
9 Crédit Agricole 4.86
10 UBS 4.79
11 Citigroup 4.54
12 Dexia Group 4.35
13 Royal Bank of Scotland 4.26
14 HBOS 3.89
From the March 16, 2009 issue
*Rank in America's Most Admired survey last year.
Top 50 Headquarters
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Show: Top 50 | All Most Admired: The Americas | Europe | Asia/Australia
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