September 2009 Archives

Ann Marie Quinn

Well, it's been almost a year since the Wells Fargo and Wachovia merger was announced. In the months that have followed, teams from both banks have been working diligently behind the scenes to determine what systems and products would be used in the combined company — no small feat, to say the least!

The teams have also taken great strides to make sure there's been little to no impact on you, our customers, during this time. And now we're gearing up for the first market conversion in Colorado in November.

As you might imagine, the integration is being worked on by many teams across the company. But the person responsible for overseeing it all is Pat Callahan. Pat's been with Wells Fargo for more than 30 years and has served in various roles throughout the company, including working on the integration of previous mergers.

This time, she's working with Steve Boehm, who was a guest blogger here on an earlier post.

In any case, we know many of you've had specific questions and comments about the integration, like this one from Sharon Collins posted on July 28:

I live in a state that has Wells Fargo but no Wachovia and I have been a Wachovia customer for over a year now. I would like to know if or when I can make cash deposits into the local Wells Fargo bank and how long would it take to reach my wachovia account. I have direct deposit but I am still looking for the comfortablilty to be able to go into a branch and make my transactions.

Well, Sharon (and everyone), we're doing our best to address your questions! So I recently sat down with Pat to get her thoughts about the integration and to share some of your most frequent comments from the blog:

Ann Marie Quinn: Pat, thanks for taking the time to meet with us. We know you're very busy preparing for the first market conversion in Colorado and working on other conversion tasks.
Pat Callahan: My pleasure! I've been a big fan of the blog and appreciate the readers who are asking questions or leaving comments about their experiences during this time. I've read many comments and appreciate customers taking the time to let us know what they think and what questions they have for us.

AMQ: So, right off the bat, what has been done from a merger perspective in the last year that our customers would notice or want to know about?
PC: Well from what I've seen, many, if not all, announcements related to what customers can do between banks have been posted on the blog. This includes the ability for mortgage customers to make their payments at either a Wells Fargo or Wachovia location and no ATM fees for customers to use either bank's ATMs. We've also started offering some Wells Fargo products and services in Wachovia stores — such as Home Mortgages.

The naming and branding of Wells Fargo Advisors is also complete. However, there's still some significant work to do to combine the Wachovia Securities and Wells Fargo Advisors products and platforms....

Molly Murphy

After Ann Marie's post in June, many of you asked for more details about the 4th quarter conversion of our Colorado locations. Well, I'm happy to announce that the Colorado conversion is scheduled for the weekend of November 7th, 2009!

If you're a Colorado customer, be sure to let us know what you think of your new banking locations — we'd love to hear what you have to say.

Remember, after Colorado we'll be moving to convert other states where Wells Fargo and Wachovia overlap: Arizona, Nevada, California and Texas and Illinois. Keep checking back here for more specifics on the 2010 timing of these conversions.

As always, we appreciate all the questions and comments...keep them coming!

Matt Wadley

As avid blog readers, most of you probably know that Wachovia branches in Colorado will be the first to convert to the Wells Fargo brand in November, adding 19 more stores to an already impressive statewide network.

As part of our transition process, Wells Fargo last month sent a “What to Expect” mailing to Wachovia customers in Colorado that provided a general overview of the November integration and thanked them for their business.

The mailing also invited Colorado customers to help choose the charitable organizations that would receive a grant as a show of support and commitment to the communities we serve.

And nearly 13,500 Wachovia customers cast their ballot!

Based on that overwhelming response, we are excited to today announce grants totaling $95,000 to 10 Colorado charities.

The charities who will receive Wells Fargo grants are as follows:

• American Cancer Society, Colorado Chapter - $25,000
• American Heart Association, Colorado - $20,000
• American Red Cross, Mile High Chapter - $15,000
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado - $5,000
• Colorado Children's Campaign - $5,000
• Hospice and Palliative Care of Western Colorado - $5,000
• Junior Achievement, Rocky Mountain Chapter - $5,000
• Pueblo Hispanic Education Foundation - $5,000
• Rocky Mountain Multiple Sclerosis Center - $5,000
• University of Colorado - $5,000

Although the timing for integrating the five other states where our two companies overlap – Arizona, California, Nevada, Illinois and Texas – and for the east coast has not yet been announced, please continue to check here on the blog and review any communications you get in the mail for updates.

Molly Murphy

With the official start to Hispanic Heritage Month  this week, Wells Fargo and Wachovia team members will be canvassing communities around the country to celebrate and recognize this important event.

The celebration of the month , from September 15 through October 15, is a time to recognize all the significant contributions of Hispanic Americans to the United States as well as to celebrate Hispanic heritage and culture. 

Why September 15? Because it's the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence on Sept. 16 and Sept. 18, respectively.

Wells Fargo and Wachovia have long and proud histories of serving Hispanic communities. Our heritage of more than 150 years includes services both for and by the Spanish-speaking settlers of the West and the Americas. Wells Fargo's people, places and business extended from the old ranchos of California, the rail lines of an emerging modern Mexico, and offices throughout Central America and the Caribbean.

As another way to celebrate, participating Wells Fargo and Wachovia stores are offering a free CD with the music of many popular Latino artists, including Enrique Iglesias , Cristian Castro , and Tito Nieves!  If you're a Wells Fargo customer, just open a new Wells Fargo Checking Package®. Wachovia customers can open a checking account, along with services including a debit card, savings account and online banking — all of which can help your finances keep up with the changes in your life.

We're so excited to share in the pride of celebrating this month with our Latino customers and team members!

Matt Wadley

If you happen to be in front of the television this weekend — and considering that its opening Sunday for the NFL , maybe that's a given — keep an eye out for a new ad from Wells Fargo Advisors (WFA).

The commercial updates the "Shadows" ad you might have seen on TV shortly after the merger with Wachovia became final, and that we featured here on the blog  as well.

In addition, print ads will begin running in national publications, such as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, on financial and lifestyle web sites, and in several popular magazines.

The ads continue to focus on how the combination of Wells and Wachovia creates a company that is even more qualified to satisfy customers' needs and help you succeed financially, while reinforcing that Wachovia Securities is now Wells Fargo Advisors.

Although we couldn't talk the WFA team into letting our blog readers vote on the new commercial this time, we were able to convince them to give you guys a sneak peek below. So check it out and let us know your thoughts.

Wayne Thompson

Whether it's the Georgia Dome , Turner Field  or the Atlanta Federal Reserve , David Moody's construction company has left its mark on some of Atlanta's most signature structures.

For the last 21 years, Wachovia has been the financial crane of C.D. Moody Construction Co.  When you think about it, that's exactly what we're doing with the Wells Fargo-Wachovia merger: Combining the strengths of Wells Fargo and Wachovia as one company to meet financial needs and build dreams.

While the conversion in Georgia is still a ways off, Moody already is excited about the benefits. "My parents are retired and living in Las Vegas so Wells Fargo's locations in Nevada are going to make it easier for me to manage their finances from here in Atlanta," he says. "And Wells Fargo Home Mortgage is currently helping them refinance their home."

From Chicago's South Side , Moody grew up watching students of the city's technical colleges carrying drafting boards and T-squares  to class. Curious, the 9-year-old asked what they were studying and learned they were would-be architects. Moody began constructing buildings of his own out of Legos and later wound up earning his own architectural degree.

With Wachovia's help, Moody launched his company in 1988 with a dream to change lives and the community. Today C.D. Moody Construction has 63 employees, annual revenues of $70 million, operations across the Southeast, and a foundation active in the arts, athletics, health care and education.

Wachovia recently helped Moody renovate and expand the company's headquarters in Lithonia, Georgia , just outside Atlanta, and — as part of its national commitment to lending in one of the nation's worst economic cycles — renewed his line of credit and preserved the company's access to capital as the market and construction industry remain under distress.

Moody knows Wachovia's merger with Wells Fargo made that happen and means an even brighter future for his company. And he credits Nakia Towns, the Wachovia Business Banker who he considers a true business partner and friend, for much of that success.

"As an African American business owner, what I look for in a partner is help getting to the next level — sharing all the knowledge you have in financing and banking that help me as a client," he states. "The big things for me are respect, access to capital, knowledge and exposure, and Nakia provides them all. That's why I recommend Wachovia and will recommend Wells Fargo to other local businesses.

"It's the spirit of the people who work here, the information they're willing to give you to make your business better and the company's diversity. In a very real sense, we're both builders. We're building together."

Matt Wadley

Well, it's that time again: Time to announce some more merger-related news! And while it doesn't include physical changes to signs and branches, it does include the very important topic of combining bank charters. 

What's a bank charter? Good question. A bank charter is a document issued by the Federal or state government that gives a bank the authority and regulatory approval to operate as a financial institution. National banks like Wells Fargo and Wachovia must have charter issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to run their banking businesses.

So what's the reason for combining them?

Well, combining bank charters is a key next step in integrating the banking businesses of Wells Fargo and Wachovia. With one charter we can provide banking customers more access and convenience as banking stores' systems are integrated over time. Eventually, our more than 20 million retail bank households will be able to do their banking in over 6,600 banking stores throughout 39 states and the District of Columbia. This will happen as the banking states convert beginning with Colorado in November and continuing throughout 2010 and 2011 in other states.

How will combining the charters affect how you do banking business with us?

It won't change how you do business with Wells Fargo or Wachovia. All of you should continue banking as you are today — just use the same bank accounts, credit cards, ATM/check cards and banking office. Any changes to these products will be communicated separately well in advance of any changes. You'll continue to see the Wachovia name in many places until those banking stores' systems are integrated with Wells Fargo.

As always, if you have any additional questions about how combining bank charters may affect you, please feel free to ask! In the meantime, here are some more Q&A's that should help....

Ann Marie Quinn

One last thank you to everyone who voted on the poll for your favorite new Wells Fargo commercial! The final result sent a clear message about which ad you preferred! Okay, maybe it wasn't a landslide, but it was fun watching the numbers go back and forth between the two choices.

In any case, we just wanted to remind you that the winning ad, "With You When" will be airing at 8:00PM EST on tonight's all-new episode of Wipeout on ABC!  (And even more specifically, right around 8:49PM.) If you're around the tube, definitely tune in.

And stay tuned in right here for more merger information. There's more to come!