This morning I find a plaque on my desk with a note, "Blog?" That's an easy question, because the answer is always "Yes"—if it exists, it's as good as blogged about. Which is both existential philosophy  and grammaticide . Whatever.

Anyway, the plaque commemorates a partnership between Wells Fargo and TIME Magazine , "40 Years of Partnership in LATIN AMERICA."

In 1941, Wells Fargo Bank & Union Trust Co. ran an ad in TIME that showed booming levels of trade with Latin America. Much of Latin America enjoyed recovery from the worldwide Great Depression  of the 1930s, thanks to better prices for their exports and a nicer exchange rate of international money. Some nations were able to settle their debts, stimulate internal economies and meet demands for their products in world markets. Industry in Latin America  had reached maturity, and with the Depression affecting the whole world, that maturity came at a good time. Things were looking up.

World War II  broke out in Europe in 1939, and industry became the vital component of alliances. Combatants needed stuff and lots of it. Latin American industries were ready, but as with every business, they wanted cash. North American and European banks stood in line to invest, and Wells Fargo Bank & Union Trust was one.

The Company established representative firms and correspondent relationships throughout the region, and—after other institutions moved on to other business—Wells Fargo stuck around. By 1981, Wells Fargo's Interamerican Bank was able to boast of a long and stable history of business in the hemisphere.

Presently, Wells Fargo has bustling foreign exchange and international operations that span geographies and commodities. Wells Fargo has had correspondent international offices since the first day of business in 1852—because a wider field of business is a wider field of opportunity.