WFC is a leading domestic bank with strong positioning across consumer and commercial lending asset classes and a top 3 deposit market share in the U.S.

The core credit risk profile remains solid; the company has actively shed non-core assets and business lines (including WFAM), both as a means of managing under the Fed’s asset cap and part of new-ish CEO Scharf’s streamline strategy.

The balance sheet is strong, but WFC continues to suffer from internal deficiencies across a range of compliance and risk mgmt. functions unearthed after the fake account scandal. Positively, the Fed reportedly approved WFC’s overhaul plans, a crucial step in the remediation process; WFC also continues to close outstanding consent orders, though some remain outstanding.

The asset cap and associated regulatory remediation remains a millstone with an unknown timeframe, though recent reporting has the cap being lifted in 2025. There was some risk that Wells could bleed share and franchise value in an economic recovery if the company cannot fully capture the business opportunity due to the asset cap, though so far that has not been the case given freed up balance sheet capacity earlier in 2020-22 and the sharp slowdown in loan growth since.

Wells Fargo faces reputational risk tied to those misconduct and business practices scandals, though likely fading with time and remediation progress; at 3Q24, WFC high-end estimable loss above legal accruals was $2 bn.

Wells has less fee income diversification as peers, largely due to the much smaller scale of the capital markets businesses and smaller presence in credit cards, both points of emphasis under Scharf as Wells embarked on aggressive card product refreshes and trading buildout.