April 2009 Archives

Matt Wadley

In 2009, when streets across America are dotted every week with red (or blue or green) recycling bins, it's hard to imagine a time when being eco-friendly was not as common as taking out the trash. Yet it was only 39 years ago today that the first Earth Day  was celebrated.

Originally motivated by concerns about overpopulation , Earth Day now represents an opportunity for all of us to join together in appreciating the beauty of our planet and raising awareness about preserving our natural resources for the future.

Fast-forward 39 years, and we've all become pretty familiar with the most basic steps to accomplishing this goal, including conserving energy, using less water, and, of course, the mantra "reduce/reuse/recycle."  But if you're looking for more, check out this Top 10 list. 

In addition to reaching individuals, Earth Day has helped companies across the world re-examine the way they do business and reconsider how it impacts our planet. As such, Wells Fargo and Wachovia are proud to be environmental stewards, which is really just a fancy way to say that both companies are committed to doing business in an environmentally friendly way.

We also encourage our customers to partner with us in making a difference when it comes to protecting our natural resources. One of the easiest ways to join us in this mission is to sign up for paperless account statements and online bill pay. In doing so, not only can you simplify your banking, you help protect our environment.

PayItGreen™ , a coalition of financial services companies that includes Wachovia and Wells Fargo, has some incredible statistics about the positive environmental impact of choosing electronic payments, bills, and statements instead of paper. I mean, do you realize that Americans receive 19 billion bills each year?!? And according to their website, just a 20% reduction would save over 100 million pounds of paper a year!

But because from the very beginning we've said this blog is about you, I'll leave you with this more personal stat: By leveraging our paper-saving online services, you (YOU!) could save 7 pounds of paper, 60 gallons of waste water and 5 gallons of gas in the next year!

Now that sounds like a great way to mark Earth Day's 40th anniversary next year.

Ann Marie Quinn

Back in early March, President Obama unveiled the Making Home Affordable program , just one component of his administration's attempt to get the economy back on track by helping millions of homeowners avoid foreclosure by restructuring or refinancing their mortgages. Of course, we understand it can get a bit confusing trying to find out just who qualifies, who doesn't, what's required and so on.

That's why we're happy to have our very own Jason Menke shed a little light on and offer some basic info about Making Home Affordable. Jason's an Assistant Vice President and Communications Consultant for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, which means he's sort of like a spokesperson — perfect for a guest blog! So without further ado, heeeeere's Jason....

Thanks, Ann Marie! So during the past several weeks a number of customers have contacted us wanting to know more about President Obama's Making Home Affordable program.

Wells Fargo and Wachovia are supporting it, and we've already started working with customers using two key approaches:

1. The Home Affordable Refinance program is designed to help homeowners with a current Fannie Mae- or Freddie Mac-owned loan take advantage of today's lower mortgage rates or help them refinance from an adjustable rate mortgage into the stability of a fixed rate. If you've got a solid payment history on your current mortgage, even if your home has lost some of its value, this portion of the plan may provide some assistance. This portion of the plan is available now through June 2010.
2. The Home Affordable Modification program was created to help homeowners avoid foreclosure by reducing their monthly mortgage payments by modifying their existing mortgage. To receive a modification, borrowers will have to provide some documentation regarding their income and provide proof of a financial hardship.

So here's the big question: How do you determine if your Wells Fargo or Wachovia mortgage is eligible for the program?

Well, there are some really cool tools at the Making Home Affordable website, including a "Loan Look Up"  that allows you to determine if your loan is owned by Fannie or Freddie. There are also some basic questionnaires  to help you figure out if you may be eligible for a refinance or a modification.

If the site says you may be eligible for a refinance, feel free to check in with your friendly neighborhood home mortgage consultant to see what next steps you might want to consider.

If the site says a modification may be the most appropriate first step, call the number on your monthly statement to work with our servicing teams.

Besides makinghomeaffordable.gov, you may also want to visit our website for a listing of the documents you'll need to have handy for either a loan modification or a refinance on our own Wells Fargo Home Assist page.

We hope this info is helpful! If you have any follow up questions, please let us know and we'll continue to do our best to answer them.

Marianne Babal

Although stagecoaches are most often associated with dusty trails of the western frontier , stages played a starring role in early transportation in areas of the South and Northeast — Wachovia's back yard — as well.

"The finest vehicles in the world without any dispute are stagecoaches," a Boston newspaper declared in 1825. And at the time, they were. After all, these vehicles, the first public transportation, carried "the young and old, the rich and the poor, the great and small, male and female, of all ranks and conditions."

Stagecoaches also carried mail. The Post Office of the young United States encouraged mail delivery along newly-constructed post roads, and designed "United States Mail Stages" to carry out the job. A growing network of stagecoach lines covered mail routes from New England to Virginia and into the southern states.

In the 1820s, stagecoaches traveled the "Upper Road," on a regular schedule from Fredericksburg, Virginia, thru Greensboro, Salisbury, and Charlotte, North Carolina, en route to Laurens, South Carolina. Other stage lines connected Nashville, Tennessee, and Huntsville, Alabama; Charleston, South Carolina and Augusta, Georgia; Fayetteville and Wilmington, North Carolina; Louisville, Kentucky and Vincennes, Indiana; and hundreds of other towns and cities.

By the 1850s, early railroads added some new transportation options, but where the Iron Horse did not run, horse-drawn stagecoaches  still carried passengers and the mail to most towns. Stages traveled at an average speed of about five miles per hour. In 1858 the 197-mile journey by railroad and stage between Montgomery and Mobile, Alabama still took a grueling 33 hours. Horse teams were changed at relay or swing stations about every 12 miles, while taverns providing meals and beds were spaced approximately 40 miles apart.

According to my colleague Bob Chandler, taking a trip on a stagecoach was definitely "an experience." He gives one traveler's colorful description of an 1868 stagecoach journey from Georgia to Alabama on our sister blog, Guided By History. Another colleague, Charles Riggs, shares some nice 1860s packing tips for those traveling on a stage....

Matt Wadley

A few months ago, we cautioned you to think twice before you clicked that link, noting the potential for fraudsters to use the integration of our two companies as a springboard for creating fake communications (phishing) designed to steal your personal and account information. And while the online guarantees for both Wells Fargo and Wachovia cover your accounts for 100% of any fraudulent usage, we can't do the same when it comes to your identity.

You see, when a criminal steals your info, not only can they steal the money you already have, they can also leverage your good name to rack up thousands of dollars in additional debt, destroying your hard-earned credit in the process.

And that's hoping you don't run into the talented Tom Ripley. 

Now, let's stop for a second and let me provide this disclaimer: Having worked with Wachovia's Loss Management and Corporate Information Security, I like to consider myself pretty savvy to common fraud tactics. But, I just took the Identity Fraud Safety Quiz on wellsfargo.com and the majority of my 12 answers generated the following result: "You have opportunity for improvement." Crikeys!

Fortunately, I did score a "Well Done!" for some answers, including one that asked how often I shred documents that contain sensitive financial information before putting it in the trash. Score one for the good guys! (What's your score?)

And our ID Theft quiz is not alone. Using a shredder  is often cited as one of the easiest and most important steps to protecting your identity. You see, criminals value your personal information so much that they'll gladly sift through your trash in hopes of finding a document or two that contains your social security number or account data.

Obviously, that is just one step in avoiding becoming a victim of identity theft. And if you're like me, you might not realize how often you are putting yourself at risk.

But, we know that our customers are some of the smartest folks out there and we'd love to hear how maybe you've changed your habits to better secure your identity from criminals. They way I view it, sharing tips and helping each other become better educated is really the key — it's a whole lot easier to be proactive in protecting your identity before you are victimized than it is to recover from it, which is said to take well over 300 hours of your time.

I think good 'ol Ben Franklin said it best over 250 years ago, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

And as Diddy  will tell ya, in the new millennium, "It's all about the Benjamins." 

Molly Murphy

Many of you have asked about the conversion timeline for Wachovia banking centers. As Matt, Ann Marie and I have blogged about previously, these things really do take time, and no integration decisions are being made without thoroughly understanding how they might impact all of you, our customers.

But there is some news we can share with you! One caveat though (ah, there's always a catch) — the schedule could and probably will change, but naturally we'll let you know if and when it does.

While all the specifics aren’t quite worked out yet, here’s the basic plan: In the fourth quarter of 2009, we hope to convert the Wachovia banking centers in one western state where both Wells Fargo and Wachovia stores currently co-exist. We’re not exactly sure which state it will be just yet, but we’ll definitely let you know as soon as we are.

The remaining states will begin conversion early in 2010, and continue throughout that year. You should know too that some conversions may not take place until 2011 — after all, we've got signs to switch over, forms to change...and so on!

We know it seems like a long way out, but we want to take the time to be sure we do this transition right for all you. Thanks so much for being so patient, and stay tuned!

UPDATE! On Monday, April 20, Fortune magazine ran an article that takes a closer look at the Wells Fargo-Wachovia merger, including some aspects of our ongoing integration. In it, Wells Fargo executive vice president Patricia Callahan notes that Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, California, and Texas will eventually "get the makeover treatment first, with the bank converting no more than a few hundred branches at a time." Give it a read!

Ann Marie Quinn

As you are all very well aware, there are still a number of decisions that need to be made about conversion activities. However, as we've mentioned in some of our previous posts, the leadership positions of our combined company are coming together.

So in the coming weeks, we'll feature conversations with different leaders in order to get their perspective on the merger and the integration of their businesses.

We kick off our series with Kevin Rhein, the head of Card Services and Consumer Lending. We were able to sit down and spend some time with Kevin recently to get some of his thoughts on the integration and how his group is making decisions as part of the process.

In case you're wondering, Kevin's group is responsible for a lot of things, like Credit Card, Consumer and Business Debit Card/Prepaid Products, Education Financial Services, Global Remittance Services, Personal Credit Management and Wells Fargo Financial.

AMQ: Kevin, thanks for joining us today.
Kevin Rhein: Happy to spend a few minutes with you! I've enjoyed reading the blog and glad to provide some content.

AMQ: Careful or we'll make you a regular contributor on here!
KR: (Laughs) If you do that, you might see your activity level decline.

AMQ: No, believe me, our readers are eager to learn more. So what has been at the top of your mind since the merger was announced a few months ago?
KR: Its size and scope. Think about it, we are combining the fourth and fifth largest banks in the United States, each of which is a Fortune 500 company. And we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create the premier financial institution in the world. We have a tremendous opportunity to learn from one another. We also have a chance to assess what works best from both organizations and strengthen our Card Services and Consumer Lending product and service offerings.

AMQ: As you look at your organization, how do you see it coming together?
KR: Well, I’d like to see our Credit and Debit Card organizations learning from each other, our student lending businesses operating together, and our Direct Auto Lending business taking off to meet the needs of a growing number of customers. I’d also like to see our International Remittance business expanding their distribution network in order to help our new Wachovia customers. But most importantly, I’d like to see us continuing to serve our customers so well that they are proud to be part of the Wells Fargo organization. We’re really trying to move beyond just customer satisfaction and get into customer engagement!

AMQ: What excites you the most about what lies ahead?
KR: When you have a culture that is dedicated to your team members and to customer engagement you have the foundation for terrific success. I’m excited about how we can get there together. If I were to stand back and look at the overall picture, what I'd like to see when the merger is complete is for us to truly be one team, twice as strong, leading our great country back to economic prosperity.

Matt Wadley

It's official: We can no longer turn on the TV or surf the Web without someone reminding us that our country's economy is in a recession.

And whether you want to listen to them or not, the reality is that most Americans are feeling the pain of a slowing cash flow and are worried about the future. And we've seen a lot of comments here on the blog that confirm that our customers are looking for ways to make their dollar go further.

Inevitably, such an economic state opens the door for companies to promote their lower-cost products through ads — like this one  — that speak to our media-driven anxiety by offering us money-saving options.

Since they won't put me in charge of advertising, here's my pitch: Now, when every penny counts more than ever, are you getting the most out of your accounts with Wells Fargo and Wachovia?

Hmm...not too bad if I do say so myself. But let's get to the point, eh?

You see, it was only a few years ago that I was still hand-writing checks, addressing envelopes and buying stamps. Fortunately, I eventually took, oh, about 5 minutes to sign up for Wachovia's Online Banking with Bill Pay and was blown away at just how easy it is to manage my bills online. (Of course, Wells Fargo customers have access to Bill Pay too.)

If memory serves, I used to spend at least a half hour twice a month paying my bills by hand. Now, paying them online takes, at most, a minute to knock out.

But, saving time is only part of the benefit to using bill pay. You see, with the price of stamps going from $0.42 to $0.44 next month , you can also save a nice chunk of change.

Let's do some quick math: Say you pay 12 bills every month (mortgage/rent, gas, electric, water, phone, cell phone, cable, Internet, car, insurance, and a few credit cards), and each bill requires a $0.44 stamp. By taking a few minutes to set up your online bill pay account, you can save $63.36 in a year. Now that's probably not going to make or break you, but hey, every dollar counts. Besides, wouldn't you rather rent 63 movies  over the next year than spend that money on stamps for paying your bills?

And as an added bonus, online banking offers you the opportunity to reduce your paper consumption and keeps your important account and personal information out of the hands of opportunistic criminals.

Saving money, saving time, helping the environment, and protecting your identity...now that's what I call living better.

Molly Murphy

Last month Jon Campbell, head of our Social Responsibilities group, wrote about both Wells Fargo's and Wachovia's commitment to charitable activities and actively serving the communities in which we do business.

Today, we're very happy to announce that together, Wells Fargo and Wachovia have increased contributions to nonprofit organizations to $226 million in 2008. And we're excited for the opportunity to reach out to and partner with even more communities than we could as individual organizations.

The official press release is below. If you like, you can read all about our community development investments, team member volunteerism, local and national giving, or environmental financing as well.

And as always, keep checking here for updates on the latest integration news!

WELLS FARGO REPORTS 5% INCREASE IN NONPROFIT GIVING TO $226 MILLION

$6.4 Billion in Community Development Loans and Investments,
1.4 Million Volunteer Hours

SAN FRANCISCO, April 8, 2009 – Despite the down economy, Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) giving to nonprofits — combined with Wachovia Corporation — increased 5 percent to $226 million in 2008. Wells Fargo's stand-alone 2008 giving rose 11 percent from the previous year to $102 million.

"The merger of Wells Fargo and Wachovia makes our presence twice as strong in the communities we serve,"; said Jon Campbell, head of Wells Fargo's Social Responsibility Group, which was formed in 2008. "Both companies have long histories of consistently investing financial capital and, more importantly, human and social capital in our communities, thanks to thousands of caring team members who are local community leaders and volunteers. Our merger is on track as planned and we believe our combination will help us be even more involved in our communities than the two companies would have been separately. Together, we want to help create even more economic growth and prosperity for the communities where our team members live and work across the U.S.";

Wells Fargo reported its 2008 community investments for the combined company, including homeownership, community development, volunteerism, financial education, diversity and environmental stewardship. The combined Company reported:

• $6.4 billion in community development loans and investments for affordable housing, schools, economic development, community revitalization and job creation.
• 1.4 million team member volunteer hours. Team members also serve on 16,000 nonprofit boards and raised a record $39.3 million during the Community Support/United Way campaign.
• 45.8 million in grants to nonprofit housing organizations in the last two years and establishment of a grant to fund energy-efficient "green"; affordable homes.
• $53.9 million to 5,360 educational organizations, and $14.6 million in matched educational donations from team members.
• $7.68 billion in tax-exempt debt financing to local governments, health care providers and nonprofit organizations to support improvements to public services such as homeless shelters, hospitals and schools.
• $4 billion in environmental financing, including large-scale wind-and-solar energy projects, since 2006.
• $942 million spent with diverse-owned and women-owned suppliers — $4.8 billion in the last six years.

For more on Wells Fargo's Social Responsibility efforts, please visit their webpage. The Company, which is integrating the Social Responsibility programs of Wells Fargo and Wachovia, will release its next Social Responsibility report in spring 2010.

# # #

Molly Murphy

One of my favorite things to do on a rainy day is to curl up with some good reading material. Being spring in Minnesota, there's plenty of opportunity for me to do just that. The other day, my fiancé found me engrossed in our recent annual report and shook his head.

"You can't possibly be reading that?"

"This has been the most volatile economic year of my life. I'm working on one of the largest financial services integration projects in history. Of course I'm going to read this," I said.

I know, you probably agree with my fiancé. An annual report? Why not something more exciting like the new John Grisham? Well, while it seems like the annual report would be a complete snoozer, it really isn't! In it, our President and CEO John Stumpf talks about how we're approaching the integration — words I'd like to share with you:

Just as we did with the very successful Norwest-Wells Fargo merger a decade ago, we're taking our time to do it right. We're putting our customers first, not the calendar. We're beginning every discussion with what's best for our customers and our team members — focusing first not on the bottom line but the top line...Our first job is to understand our customers' financial objectives, their true financial needs, then offer them products and services to help satisfy those needs so they can be financially successful.

Now many of you might read this and be skeptical, and I can't say I blame you. Given these times of economic uncertainty, your confidence has probably been tested more than you would like. We all know actions speak louder than words. So let's look back.

Ten years ago we had tremendous success with the Wells Fargo – Norwest merger. I was one of the many thousands of team members who worked on that project. I remember how the complexity made decision making hard. Back then, our CEO gave us clear guiding principles of putting the customer first. Once again, John has given us very clear direction from our leaders about how to handle the integration with Wachovia: Our focus is to remain squarely on you, our customers.

Of course, if you're not very interested in curling up with your very own annual report, I can't say I blame you. (I know my fiancé doesn't!) So tell you what: Keep checking back, and we'll have an integration update within the next few weeks! (Without all the spreadsheets.) Thanks so much!

Matt Wadley

A while back, we had Ed Terpening, head of our Social Media Department, tell you about Wells Fargo's social media journey, highlighting the five different blogs the company has launched in the past three years, as well as our YouTube channel.

Well just last week (Thursday, March 26, to be exact), we added Twitter to the list with the launch of @Ask-WellsFargo. 

I've personally had the pleasure of managing the day-to-day tweeting on @Wachovia  (Wachovia's Twitter account) for the past 6 months. For a PR guy who spends most of his time working with company executives and media types, it's been a truly unique opportunity to interact directly with our customers. From the positive to the negative to the sarcastic, you'd never imagine how often people tweet about their bank. But when you think about the daily role our bank account plays in our lives, it's really only natural that customers mention those interactions when posting an update.

And with the launch of Wells Fargo's Twitter account, we can now offer customers from both companies an additional outlet for asking account-related questions — in 140 characters or less of course.

So, the next time you're on Twitter , feel free to sign up to follow one or both of our accounts, and we'll return the favor. Tweet ya later, kids!