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2009 Best Consumer Bank: Wells Fargo

In times of uncertainty, it’s natural for consumers to fall back on familiar, tried-and-true brands. Maybe that’s why, this year, NorthBay biz readers have chosen 157-year-old Wells Fargo as Best Consumer Bank.

It’s survived the 1906 earthquake and fire, two World Wars, the Great Depression and so much more—reassuring stability these days. For generations, the banking powerhouse did it all from two marbled halls in downtown San Francisco, until the 1960s when it first started opening branch offices throughout Northern California. In the 1980s, it became a statewide bank; soon after, the seventh largest bank in the nation.

Today, Wells Fargo is one of the country’s largest publicly held employers; it’s also one of only about a dozen U.S. companies still in its founding business under its founding name after such a time span. In 2008, the bank grew even stronger with the acquisition of Wachovia.

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company with $1.3 trillion in assets, providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance through more than 10,400 stores, more than 12,000 ATMs and online across North America and internationally. Wells Fargo has also always been an innovator, an early adopter of new concepts like drive-up tellers, banking by phone, credit cards, ATMs and online banking.

Ultimately, says Greg Morgan, a Wells Fargo regional president based in Santa Rosa, the bank’s core value is serving each individual customer. “We focus on the customer from start to finish,” he says. “Everything we measure is in terms of customer satisfaction. We’re looking for a relationship instead of a one-time sale.”

The bank is intent on satisfying customers’ financial needs and helping them succeed financially. “We believe in people as a competitive advantage,” Morgan continues. “It’s our most important value. Almost without exception, the managers live in the communities where they work. There’s so much more passion and involvement in their communities.”

This year, Wells Fargo is committed to even more community outreach—what Morgan describes as “feet on the street.” Every week, Wells Fargo team members are out in the community meeting with small businesses to see if they need help, even if they’re not customers. They’re also reaching out to first-time homebuyers.

“It’s the most rewarding thing I’ve done in a while,” Morgan says. “Even if we don’t have all the answers, just being there for people, we can direct them in the right way.”

www.wellsfargo.com