Wells Fargo & Company 2020 Annual Report
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
2020 Annual Report Contents 02 Letter from CEO 21 Our Performance 22 Operating Committee 24 Board of Directors 26 COVID-19 and Sustainability 33 2020 Financial Report 243 Stock Performance “Wells Fargo plays an important role in our communities and our country — and this has never been more true than in 2020.” I cannot help but look back and think how little we understood one year ago of what 2020 would bring for the world, our country, and our company. The devastation caused by COVID-19 on global public health is clear, but we are still struggling to comprehend the full economic and social impact of the virus. Vaccines will hopefully bring to an end the health risks, but there is much to do to enable a full, fair, and equitable economic and social recovery. Charles W. Scharf Supporting Our Employees, CEO Communities, and Customers Wells Fargo & Company I said last year that Wells Fargo plays an important role in our communities and our country — and this has never been more true than in 2020. We believe we have both an obligation to do all we can and are in a position to provide meaningful support to our employees, communities, and customers. That is just what we did throughout this unprecedented year. 2 2020 Annual Report We prioritized employee and customer safety while recognizing that we were an essential service and needed to be available to support our customers. We quickly enabled over 200,000 employees to work from home, something we would not have considered possible just weeks before. We kept at least 70% of our branches open while implementing CDC-recommended safety protocols. We expanded digital access and deployed new tools — including new limits for mobile deposits and wires, new digital mortgage deferment tools, and expanded e-signature support — to make access easier and safer for customers. We extended significant credit to our clients during the height of the crisis. In March alone, our commercial customers utilized over $80 billion of their committed loan facilities. In 2020, we also provided significant accommodations, including deferring payments and waiving fees for 3.6 million consumer and small business customers. We suspended residential property foreclosures, evictions, and involuntary auto repossessions. We participated in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and funded 194,000 loans totaling over $10.5 billion. (We also are actively participating in the next round of PPP in 2021.) We were proud to help smaller businesses through this program with 61% of our loans being for amounts less than $25,000, 84% of loans going to companies that had fewer than 10 employees, and 90% for businesses with less than $2 million in annual revenue. In addition, 41% of loans went to companies in low-to-moderate income areas or at least 50% minority census tracts. In addition, in 2020 we voluntarily committed to donate all of our gross processing fees — approximately $420 million — by creating the Open for Business Fund, which provides support to struggling small businesses impacted by COVID-19. Of this commitment, we deployed $85 million in 2020 and will continue to deploy these funds through 2022. We continued to pay all employees during the crisis, made a cash award to approximately 165,000 employees who make less than $100,000 per year, and made an additional special payment to those working on the front lines as a way of recognizing their unique contributions. We granted eligible employees additional days off so they could arrange for child care and provided financial support for those in need. We made a grant to the WE Care employee relief fund, which is available to employees affected by COVID-19 and who have limited resources. 3 In addition, we supported our communities beyond these efforts as we directed a total of $475 million in charitable giving (including the $85 million deployed from our Open for Business Fund noted above) to help address food insecurity, small business support, housing stability and other urgent community needs. “We extended significant credit to our clients during the height of the crisis. In March alone, our commercial customers utilized over $80 billion of their committed loan facilities. In 2020, we also provided significant accommodations, including deferring payments and waiving fees for 3.6 million consumer and small business customers.” We are just one of many companies that provided necessary support — and we will continue to do so as the impact of the pandemic continues. The economic and operational impact of the pandemic on Wells Fargo has been significant and has certainly added to the complexity of our work, but I am proud of what we have done to continue to deliver for our customers, communities, and employees. Company Assessment When writing this letter last year, I had been at the company for four months and shared my initial assessment of our challenges and opportunities, both of which were significant. I described my early thoughts on the changes that were necessary for Wells Fargo to put the past behind us and capture the significant potential of this great franchise. One year later, I continue to believe our franchises are world class, are in the sweet spot of providing necessary financial services to consumers and companies of all sizes, and when working together, are even more valuable. But, as I’ve learned more, the extent of the change required has become clearer and is more significant than I initially assessed. We are addressing this head-on and moving with an extreme sense of urgency to set clear priorities, which include building the proper foundation first and foremost. And we are also changing the culture where necessary, making management changes 4 2020 Annual Report as needed, instituting new disciplines to set strategy and manage the company, and refining our business mix so we are positioned to invest appropriately going forward. 2020 Financial Performance Our financial performance this past year was challenged by both the external operating environment and the necessary work to put our substantial legacy issues behind us. In terms of the significant drivers, we built large loan loss reserves to prepare for the economic impact caused by the pandemic. Low interest rates negatively impacted our net interest income, and we were limited in our ability to offset this given our constraints of operating under an asset cap. We recognized restructuring charges to accelerate our efficiency initiatives (more on this later), and we continued to spend significant amounts to build out our risk and control infrastructure as well as to provide remediation for customers to address our historical shortcomings. And while it was absolutely the right thing to do, COVID-19 increased our expenses and reduced revenue as we took actions to support our customers and protect our employees. Wells Fargo generated $3.3 billion in net income, or 41 cents per diluted common share. Our revenue declined 15% from the previous year, while noninterest expense declined 1%, but remained at an elevated level largely due to customer remediation accruals and restructuring charges. Provision expense for credit losses increased $11.4 billion with large reserve builds in the first half of 2020 reflecting forecasted credit deterioration due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Loans outstanding declined 8% in 2020, as both commercial and consumer customers adopted a more cautious stance and our commercial clients were able to access the capital markets. Deposits grew $81.8 billion, or 6%, from a year ago as declines in commercial deposits driven by our efforts to remain under the asset cap were more than offset by growth in consumer deposits helped by strong fiscal stimulus, reduced customer spend, and utilization of deferral programs. While we built significantly higher loan loss reserves, actual charge-offs were much lower than anticipated, aided by government stimulus programs and deferral programs that are helping customers navigate the challenges of the pandemic. Our net charge-off rate increased modestly in 2020 — to 0.35% of average loans — but the ultimate timing and magnitude of losses will depend on the broader recovery. Despite the challenging environment, the strength of our balance sheet was evident throughout the year. Our capital and liquidity levels remained well above regulatory minimums (Common Equity Tier 1 of 11.6% vs. 9% minimum and Liquidity Coverage Ratio of 133% vs. 100% minimum at year-end) and the results of the two Federal Reserve stress tests confirmed our strong capital position. Given the economic uncertainty and the temporary restrictions imposed by the Federal Reserve Bank, 5 we took appropriate measures to maintain strong capital. We suspended share repurchases starting in March, and made the difficult decision to reduce our common stock dividend from 51 cents per share to 10 cents per share. That said, we have significant excess capital, and as the economic recovery becomes clearer and restrictions on capital distributions are lifted, we expect to be able to return capital to shareholders through a combination of higher dividends and share buybacks. Returning capital to shareholders over time remains a priority. Business and Strategic Review We have conducted rigorous reviews of our businesses with an eye towards assessing their strategic fit to the company, assessing the risk/return profile, and creating a roadmap for improved operational and financial performance. Our goal is to be the preeminent provider of financial services in the U.S. and in doing so seek to reward all stakeholders, including investors, employees, customers, and the communities where we do business. We believe our model as an integrated U.S. bank with significant scale and breadth of capabilities positions us to achieve our goal, and that we are one of only a few that have this position — though we do compete with thousands.