In late October , a faction of young Algerian Muslims established B bombers are diverted from their targets in South Vietnam to attack suspected communist base camps and supply areas in Cambodia for the first time in the war. President Nixon approved the mission—formally designated Operation Breakfast—at a meeting of the National A century ago, even before the phonograph had become a common household item, there was already a burgeoning music industry in the United States based not on the sale of recorded musical performances, but on the sale of sheet music.
It was in the medium of printed paper, and not Nearly students in Texas are killed by an explosion of natural gas at their school on March 18, The Consolidated School of New London, Texas, sat in the middle of a large oil and natural gas field.
The area was dominated by 10, oil derricks, 11 of which stood right Sign up now to learn about This Day in History straight from your inbox. On March 18, , a charred rental car in a remote wooded area of Long Barn, Califonia is discovered. The company is one of the top 'cross-sellers' of financial services in the country, offering credit cards, personal loans, wealth management services, and insurance the firm is the nation's second largest crop insurer.
Business-oriented services include commercial banking services, lending, investment banking, venture capital, and equipment leasing. Wells Fargo is one of the leaders in the realm of online banking, having become the first major financial services firm to offer Internet banking back in The Wells Fargo of the early 21st century is the product of more than 1, mergers over a nearly year history. The bank has three main predecessors, however. Norwest's history originates in when several Midwest banks joined forces within a banking cooperative called Northwest Bancorporation, which was known as Banco.
During the s, Banco diversified into other areas of financial services, its affiliates reorganized, and Banco changed its name in to Norwest. Fifteen years later it acquired the original Wells Fargo. Wells traces its origins to a banking and express business formed in to exploit the economic opportunities created by the California gold rush.
The banking operation split off from the express business in Throughout its colorful history, the company provided innovative services to its customers and demonstrated an ability to weather economic conditions that ruined its competitors. First Interstate first emerged as a separate company in as a spinoff of the banking interests of Transamerica Corporation called Firstamerica Bancorporation. Four years later the company was renamed Western Bancorporation, and in it adopted the First Interstate name.
As it traced its origins to Transamerica, First Interstate had a lineage dating to , when A. Giannini opened the Bank of Italy in San Francisco. During the generally prosperous s, the nation's agricultural sector did not share in the good times.
Many smaller banks that had overextended credit to farmers ran into serious trouble. In the Upper Midwest alone, 1, banks became insolvent from to It was with this backdrop that in early , just months before the stock market crash, two banking associations were formed in the Twin Cities of Minnesota: Northwest Bancorporation and the First Bank Stock later known as First Bank System Inc. The Northwest cooperative, known more simply as Banco, initially included Northwestern National Bank of Minneapolis and several other Midwestern banks.
Banco acquired stock in the affiliated banks and served as a mutual protection association for the beleaguered banks. Another 90 banks joined Banco in its first year of operation and by there were affiliates. During the Great Depression, numerous additional banks failed, another in the Upper Midwest by None of the Banco members went under--and no depositor lost any savings--because the group was able to move liquidity around the system and in some cases, inject new capital into troubled banks.
The number of members did decline, however, as some units in the group merged while others were sold off. Membership fell to 83 by , then to 70 by One of Banco's strategic advantages in the long run was its ability to operate in multiple states. The McFadden Act of had prohibited banks from operating branches across state lines. Banco was one of three major banks the others being First Bank System and First Interstate Bancorp that was allowed to conduct interstate banking under a grandfather clause in the act.
This advantage was tempered somewhat by the emergence of bank holding companies in the late s, but under the holding company arrangement, a subsidiary bank in one state was a separate entity from a subsidiary bank in another state. Prior to the s, the affiliated members of Banco were largely autonomous. But during that decade, Banco began adopting a more unified structure in terms of systemwide planning, marketing, data processing, funds management, and loan syndication. Banco was also active on the international banking scene through its lead bank, Northwestern National, which controlled Canadian American Bank, a merchant bank with offices in Winnipeg, London, Nassau, and Luxembourg.
Banco was beset by a series of major setbacks in the early s. The troubles actually began in late when Richard H. Vaughan, the president and CEO, died by electrocution when he touched an electrical wire that had fallen during a storm. This set off a management crisis. Chester Lind stepped in as a caretaker leader until a more permanent successor could be found. In October John W. Morrison was named chairman and CEO. The new leader began centralizing the still loosely knit confederation.
In the odd affiliates began to be grouped into eight regions reporting to a corporate vice-chairman. Plans were also laid to unify all the affiliates and Banco itself under a new name.
The change occurred in , when Northwest Bancorporation became Norwest Corporation. Tellingly, the new name did not include 'bank' or some variant thereof because Morrison aimed to create a diversified financial services company.
Based in Des Moines, Iowa, Dial had more than offices in 38 states offering consumer loans for everything from cars to sailboats.
Dial was renamed Norwest Financial Services Inc. While these restructuring initiatives were being carried out, the bank suffered another blow during the Thanksgiving weekend when the downtown Minneapolis headquarters burned to the ground. It would be six years before Norwest would be able to move into its new quarters at the Norwest Center, during which time the corporate staff was scattered around 26 different sites in the city, leading to numerous logistical difficulties.
Further trouble came from the bank's mortgage unit, Norwest Mortgage Inc. In August the head of Norwest Mortgage was fired because of the hedging losses. By early substantial portions of Norwest Mortgage were divested, including operations involved in servicing mortgages and buying mortgages from other lenders for resale.
The unit now focused strictly on originating mortgages. In the wake of Norwest's poor performance in , Morrison resigned and was replaced by Lloyd P. Johnson, former vice-chairman of Security Pacific Corp. Johnson soon brought on board Richard M.
Kovacevich, who was hired away from Citicorp to become vice-chairman and CEO of Norwest's banking group in early he was named to the additional posts of president and COO of Norwest Corp. The new managers began slashing away at Norwest's bloated bureaucracy. To help prevent future calamities, Norwest instituted tighter lending criteria. On the banking side, Kovacevich continued the process of standardizing the operating methods of the various Norwest banks, increased marketing efforts, and expanded the services offered.
At the same time came the pruning of some rural operations, including eight banks in southern Minnesota and seven branches in South Dakota. Later in the decade, opportunities to expand outside the group's traditional seven-state banking region began to arise as the barriers to interstate banking began to be dismantled. In Norwest entered rapidly growing Arizona for the first time through the purchase of a small bank near Phoenix. Acquisitions continued in the early s.
By early Norwest had bank branches in 11 states, having moved into Indiana, Illinois, and Wyoming. Norwest Financial grew through acquisition as well, with the purchase of Trans Canada Credit, the second largest consumer finance firm in Canada.
Between January and June , Norwest made an additional 25 acquisitions, including several in Texas, making it the most active acquirer among bank holding companies. In Norwest Mortgage became the nation's leading originator of home mortgages following the acquisition of Directors Mortgage Loan Corp.
About one-quarter of Norwest Corp. One of the keys to Norwest's success in the retail banking sector following the arrival of Kovacevich was the emphasis on relationship banking. His focus was on smaller customers, checking account depositors and small businesses, and he aimed to build relationships with them that would lead to cross-selling of other financial services--an auto loan, a mortgage, insurance, a mutual fund, and so on.
To do so required the maintenance of an extensive network of bank branches staffed by well-trained tellers and bankers. From our early years in business through the s, stagecoaches brought our customers closer to the things they valued. Now, more than a figure from our past, the Wells Fargo stagecoach is a living part of our American story and a symbol of how we're always driving forward.
At the San Francisco museum you can see an original stagecoach, banking and express documents, working telegraphs, western art, gold coins, old money, and more. Free tours are available for all ages, with a special emphasis complementing state primary and secondary American history curriculums.
Students learn of and experience the role of gold in U. The museums also tailor tours for senior groups, college students, and business professionals. Teachers and tour leaders should call ahead for details and to schedule a tour. More about our San Francisco museum. Furthermore, did Wachovia Bank merger with Wells Fargo?
Then in , Wachovia became part of Wells Fargo, making the financial institution part of the one of the nation's biggest and most varied financial services businesses. First Union merges On September 1, , First Union and Wachovia merged to create the leading retail bank presence on the East Coast and the fifth-largest full-service retail broker-dealer in the United States.
The new company was named Wachovia Corporation. What is Wells Fargo known for? Serving more communities than any other US bank, Wells Fargo is a banking institution known for its classic stagecoach logo. Those who had fees charged between May 1, , and Dec.
Additional compensation: After the other payments have been calculated, Wells Fargo will divide the remaining settlement money among all the claimants. Wells Fargo is great company to work for. If you are looking to get your start in the finance industry, or transition to a new company , the opportunities are endless.
With positions from risk management, financial reporting, investments, and technology, there is always a prospect available.
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