Wells Fargo & Company: CFO Mike Santomassimo addresses debate points head-on

Research evidence excerpt

Wells Fargo & Company: CFO Mike Santomassimo addresses debate points head-on

Wealth management

Wealth has become a meaningful growth driver as prior investments in talent and

technology gain traction. Recruiting high-quality advisors is key, as “you’re not only

bringing investment assets… you’re bringing lending, banking… a whole bunch of things

that drive profitability.” The branch-based Premier model is also scaling, linking

investment flows with incremental deposits and lending.

Consumer & branch productivity

Consumer banking continues to improve, with sustained checking account growth:

“we’re up almost every quarter… for the last 11 or 12 quarters.” Branch productivity is

recovering following the reintroduction of incentives, though still below full potential.

Growth in cards and wealth integration is enhancing overall customer economics.

Cards & Auto lending

The card business is now inflecting into profitability as vintages season: “we’re

transitioning from… a drag on profitability to contributing positively.” Performance is

tracking at or above expectations, with credit outcomes better than modeled. Auto

lending has resumed growth with discipline, remaining focused on prime borrowers.

Commercial banking expansion

Commercial banking is delivering strong client acquisition and share gains, with new

client growth up 20–40% YoY. Investments in targeted markets and banker hiring are

driving broad-based growth across lending, deposits, and treasury. This is increasingly

feeding into markets and IB revenue through deeper client relationships.

AI, stablecoins & deposits

Management is cautious on near-term disruption from AI-driven cash optimization,

noting no observable behavioral shift: “we’re not seeing any kind of behavior shifts as