20 most profitable companies

Wells Fargo showed again why it's on the short list of banks to come out of the financial crisis stronger. Wells led all banks in mortgage lending during 2010, after weaker competitors got wiped out during the downturn and others were busy improving their balance sheets.

Wells' losses on bad loans have been dramatically lower than those of competitors, it says, because of prudent lending standards. That same cautious approach explains why Wells doesn't expect to be hampered by the foreclosure documentation scandal engulfing many of the large banks.

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