The San Francisco Chronicle reports that not only is Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) surviving the chaos on Wall Street, but it just may be thriving. About the only reason that Wells Fargo has been in the news recently is as a potential buyer of Washington Mutual (NYSE: WM). In fact, as markets tumbled early in the week, Wells Fargo shares reached a new 52-week high of $44.69.

Industry observers say that Wells Fargo's stability is a consequence of its limited exposure to failing mortgages, particularly of the subprime variety. It hasn't escaped unscathed, however. It said it would take charges in the third quarter related to investments in Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM), Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE), and Lehman Brothers, but much less than those taken by rivals Wachovia (NYSE: WB) and Washington Mutual.

Wells Fargo has been selectively acquiring assets, mostly in the western U.S., during the economic woes, and is expected to continue to do so. Chairman and former CEO, Richard Kovacevich, is rumored to me looking for one more deal before he retires later this year, according to Reuters. But both Wells Fargo and Washington Mutual have declined to comment on a possible deal. "There's going to be a lot of mergers and acquisitions for either good reasons or because people don't have choices," said Kovacevich, pointing out that Wells Fargo is not the only lender looking to buy.

Wells Fargo shares closed Friday at $39.80 and are up 31.8% year to date. Analysts surveyed by First Call recommend holding Wells Fargo.

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