Wells Fargo

choi

Matt Schifrin and Halah Touryalai, The Bank That Works. as financial services continue to struggle with credibility--and profitability--john stumpf's wells fargo is quietly doing what banks are supposed to; operating account, making loans and issuing mortgages. He may even have a solution to the housing crisis. Forbes, Feb 13, 2012 (cover story)
http://www.forbes.com/sites/hala ... he-bank-that-works/
(at web page 3: “'There’s only three jobs at Wells Fargo: taking care of existing customers, getting new customers and managing the risk of those two things,' adds [Wells’ chief risk officer back in 2006, Michael] Loughlin. 'Nowhere in there am I talking about profitability or market share'")

Note:
(a)
(A) German surname Stumpf is Middle High German for "stump."
(B) The English surnames Wells/Welles is Old English for "spring," "stream."
(C) The Hungarian surname Fargo/Vargo comes from Hungarian word varga "cobbler," "shoemaker."

(b) The article neglects to tell readers the financial troubles of Wells Fargo in the 2008 financial crisis.

"On October 28, 2008, Wells Fargo and Company was the recipient of $25B of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act Federal bail-out in the form of a preferred stock purchase. Tests by the Federal government revealed that Wells Fargo needs an additional 13.7 billion dollars in order to remain well capitalized if the economy were to deteriorate further under stress test scenarios. On May 11, 2009 Wells Fargo announced an additional stock offering which was completed on May 13, 2009 raising $8.6 billion in capital."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wells_Fargo
(The current Wells Fargo is a result of a 1998 merger between Minneapolis-based Norwest Corporation and the original Wells Fargo.
After the acquisition [by Northwest], the parent company kept its headquarters in San Francisco)

(c) Norwest
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwest
(section 1.1 Early formation: 1929)

(d) The articles remarks, "You can’t walk ten feet at its San Francisco headquarters without smacking into the culture, literally. Stagecoach images and models fill every empty space, links to a frontier history that Wells is happy to exploit for propaganda purposes (it was started by the two founders of American Express in 1852 to provide banking services for the California gold rush, and quickly took over the western half of the Pony Express)."

(e) History of Wells Fargo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Wells_Fargo
(section 1 Early history)

(f) American Express
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Express
(American Express was started as an express mail business in Albany, New York, in 1850 [through merger of the express companies owned by Henry Wells, William Fargo, and John Warren Butterfield; The same founders [sic; from context apparently without Butterfield; see the preceding (d)] also started Wells Fargo & Co. in 1852 when Butterfield and other directors objected to the proposal that American Express extend its operations to California)
(g) Pony Express
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pony_Express
(from April 3, 1860 to October 1861; It became the west's most direct means of east-west communication before the telegraph and was vital for tying California closely with the Union just before the American Civil War; founded by William H. Russell, Alexander Majors, and William B. Waddell; Patee House in St Joseph, Missouri served as headquarters)
(h)
(A) credenza
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credenza
(B) credenza (n; Italian, literally, belief, confidence, from Medieval Latin credentia; First Known Use 1880)
www.m-w.com
(i) tchotchke (n; Yiddish tshatshke trinket, from obsolete Polish czaczko; First Known Use 1971):
"KNICKKNACK, TRINKET"
(J) Regarding Lucite deal toys."
(A) Poly(methyl methacrylate)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poly(methyl_methacrylate)
(first brought to market in 1933 by [Philadelphia-based] Rohm and Haas Company, under the trademark Plexiglas. It has since been sold under many different names including Lucite and Perspex)
(B) deal toy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deal_toy

, whose "External link" points to:
Ianthe Jeanne Dugan, Another Wall Street Casualty: The Art of the 'Deal Toy;' Fewer Mergers Mean Fewer Lucite Mementos; Lehman's In-House Artist Had Title, Bonus. Wall Street Journal, Feb 11, 2009.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123431574025671015.html

Please view slide show only.

(k) The article says of Wells Fargo CEO office, "It’s also devoid of something else you’d ­expect: a door. 'Around here if you have something to say, you say it—nobody is going to be offended,' says Stumpf of his policy of no doors on the executive floor. 'We’ve learned how to disagree without being disagreeable. There’s no tolerance for being passive-aggressive or for having sharp elbows around here.'

In an attempt to be funny, the author alludes to a trap door, through which the unwelcome guest would go down to feed crocodiles, say.
(l) Pierz, Minnesota
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierz,_Minnesota
(Pierz was named for Father Francis Xavier Pierz, a Slovenian born Catholic priest who came to Minnesota during the early 1850s as a missionary to the both Ojibwe Indians and the German Catholic settlers he attracted to the area)
(m) The article states, "During the harsh winters, the family drank beer (each member had his or her own stein, says a college friend).

(A) stein (n; probably from German Steingut stoneware, from Stein stone + Gut goods; First Known Use 1855):
"a large mug (as of earthenware) used especially for beer; also : the quantity of beer that a stein holds")
(B) beer stein
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_stein
(n) St Cloud State University
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Cloud_State_University
(a four-year public university founded in 1869 on the banks of the Mississippi River in St. Cloud, Minnesota, United States. The university is the largest member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system)
(o)
(A) Wachovia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wachovia
(based in Charlotte, North Carolina; was the fourth-largest bank holding company in the United States based on total assets [when] Wells Fargo acquired Wachovia after a government-forced sale to avoid a failure of Wachovia; section 1.1 Origin of corporate name [note pronunciation of "ch"])
(B) Wachau
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wachau
(an Austrian valley with a picturesque landscape formed by the Danube river; 40 kilometres (25 mi) in length)
(p) The article, in the second side box titled "The Art of the Cross-Sell," comments, "Stumpf was being polite: He'd as soon reveal his methods as Coke would the ingredients of its syrup."

soon (adv): "in agreement with one's choice or preference : WILLINGLY <I'd just as soon walk as drive>"