Wells Fargo, Financial Industry | featured news

The institution is accelerating its cost-cutting strategy, planning to pare its operations so much that it will lose its spot as the nation’s largest bank employer, falling behind the likes of JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup.

Late last week, a research report by the Susquehanna Financial Group got the market buzzing about the possibility of Wells Fargo acquiring Discover Financial Services. Such an acquisition would no doubt be in line with Wells Fargo’s strategy of focusing on traditional banking services for growth. And the bank has made it clear in the recent past that it will not shy away from opportunities to grow inorganically. So, is there really value to be gained from such a merger between the fourth largest U.S. bank in terms of assets and the fourth largest payments firm?

Fourth-quarter profit at Wells Fargo rose 20% as the banking giant posted more loan growth and again reduced the amount of money it sets aside to cover potential loan losses.

Wells Fargo & Co. says its fourth-quarter profit shot up, as it was able to lower the amount of reserves set aside to cover souring loans.

Several major U.S. banks, led by Wells Fargo & Co, said the troubled economy drove credit losses higher, reducing profitability in the second quarter.