Dick Kovacevich posts

Feed

M&A update 10-12-07: Dick Kovacevich retiring as Wells Fargo chairman

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) announced on June 27th that John Stumpf would be CEO of WFC, succeeding Dick Kovacevich, who will continue as Chairman of WFC. WFC said "Kovacevich has said he will remain with company no later than the end of next year, when he will be 65." Kovacevich competed with retired John Reed to lead Citigroup (NYSE: C) in the 1970s; Reed was appointed to CEO. Kovacevich took a leadership position at Norhwest Bank, eventually purchasing WFC in 1998. James Cramer has said Kovacevich should be considered as a replacement for current Citigroup CEO & Chairman Chuck Prince.

Daily M&A Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Twin sons of different mothers---Wells Fargo and TCF Financial

You know greatness when you see it. You know consistency when you see it. You understand differences when you see them. Well, here are two examples of superb execution and a consistency of growth: Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) and TCF Financial, Inc. (NYSE:TCB). Both so different, yet so much alike.

TCB , as TCF Financial is known, is not a nationally known bank, but more of a regional player. They have operations in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Colorado and Indiana. In these neck of the woods they are known as the bank to Joe lunch bucket and to the university students. TCB has branches in grocery stores as well as stand alone branches. The hours of the grocery stores are TCB's hours as well. They have gimmicky give away prizes for opening a checking account and they are most forgiving on checks with non-sufficient funds. Forgiving to the tune of $25 each time!! This bank executes its plan flawlessly and they clearly know who their customer is and is not. They give university students their first credit card, carrying of course a fairly high interest rate, but it's still credit.

TCF Financial will never cater to the latte set or the champagne crowd, but its customer loyalty is legendary in the Midwest.By the way, the stock is just under its 52-week high and the company pays a healthy 3.7% dividend.

Wells Fargo & Co. -WFC- is based in San Francisco, but also has strong Midwestern roots. Their legendary CEO Dick Kovacevich is from Minneapolis and has been at the banks helm ever since Wells Fargo merged with Norwest bank ( based in Minneapolis before Wells merger). WFC has an upper crust customer base and it services that base relentlessly. They know how to capture customers and more importantly, keep them. Kovacevich has instilled a culture of passion within Wells that is felt right down to the tellers. Yes, Wells Fargo still has tellers!!

Wells Fargo shuns away from international banking as the profit margins and risk profile are more suspect. WFC knits its daily sweater right in the USA. It is the bank for mid-size to large businesses and has a powerful consumer franchise. Its product offerings are nearly endless and creative. By the way, WFC is also just below its 52-week high and pays a healthy 3.1% dividend.

So here you have two banks on different ends of the spectrum, yet both highly profitable, successful and customer driven. Twin sons of different mothers...

Georges Yared is the author of "Baby Boomer Investing...Where do we go from here?" and "Stop Losing Money Today". For more info go to http://www.georgesyared.com

Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA-89.2312,801.23
NASDAQ-23.352,903.88
S&P 500-9.311,342.64

Last updated: February 12, 2012: 04:44 AM

Hot Stocks

General Electric

18.875-0.255(-1.33)

Alcoa

10.29-0.35(-3.29)

Apple Inc

493.42+0.25(+0.05)

Google Inc 'A'

605.91-5.55(-0.91)

Bank of America

8.07-0.11(-1.34)

Wal-Mart Stores

61.90-0.06(-0.10)

Exxon Mobil Corp

83.80-1.08(-1.27)

Ford

12.44-0.25(-1.97)

Citigroup

32.925-0.735(-2.18)

IBM

192.42-0.71(-0.37)

Yahoo

16.14+0.14(+0.88)

Starbucks

48.82-0.38(-0.77)

Microsoft

30.495-0.275(-0.89)

Home Depot

45.33+0.06(+0.13)

DailyFinance Headlines

AOL Business News

BioHealth Investor Headlines

Sponsored Links

My Portfolios

Track your stocks here!

Find out why more people track their portfolios on AOL Money & Finance then anywhere else.

BloggingStocks Partners

More from AOL Money & Finance

Page Loaded in 1329039883413 ms.