Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC), is the fourth largest bank holding company in the United States.^[1] Wells Fargo & Company is best classified as a diversified financial services company, and with over 80 distinct businesses, Wells Fargo offers a full range of financial products and services and targets all types of clients, from individuals to large corporations in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia. In 2010, Wells Fargo earned a total of $85 billion in total revenues and a net income of $12.4 billion.^[2]

Wells Fargo became the nation's largest mortgage lender and the second-largest diversified financial services firm in the United States in term of deposits Stock:WFC after acquiring Wachovia (WB).^[3][4] There was a legal dispute with the deal however, as Citigroup had sought to acquire Wachovia as well. Wells Fargo and Citigroup reached a settlement, with Wells Fargo paying Citigroup $100 million to settle the lawsuits.^[5] Wells Fargo's sold $12.6 billion in common stock and $25 billion in preferred stock to the US Government through former U.S. Treasury Secretary Paulson's $700B Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) as part of the deal to raise enough cash for the acquisition.^[6][7][8]

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