Wells Fargo CEO: ‘We had solid results in the third quarter’

CEO Charlie Scharf commented, “We had solid results in the third quarter with both net income and diluted earnings per share up from the second quarter. Our earnings profile is very different than it was five years ago as we have been making strategic investments in many of our businesses and de-emphasizing or selling others. Our revenue sources are more diverse and fee-based revenue grew 16% during the first nine months of the year, largely offsetting net interest income headwinds. We have maintained strong credit discipline and driven significant operating efficiencies in the company while investing heavily to build a risk and control environment appropriate for a bank of our size and complexity. While we believe there are significant benefits still to come from our investments, it is gratifying to see our actions having an impact on our business metrics and financial results.” “Our strong capital position enables us to continue investing in our businesses and we have consistently returned excess capital to our shareholders. We increased our third quarter common stock dividend by 14% and repurchased $3.5 billion of common stock in the third quarter and over $15 billion during the first nine months of this year, up over 60% from a year ago. Our diluted common share count is down 7% from a year ago and 22% over the last 5 years,” Scharf added. “While our risk and control work remains our top priority, we continue to invest to drive more diverse and stronger growth and higher returns. In the third quarter, we launched two new co-branded credit cards and announced a multi-year co-branded agreement for auto financing. We continued to hire experienced leaders across the Company, including a new Head of Technology and key coverage and product hires in the Corporate and Investment Bank, and we also continued to enhance our capabilities and improve how we serve our customers. I am excited about the opportunities ahead to make Wells Fargo even better for our customers, our employees, and our communities,” Scharf concluded.