Wells Fargo 2015 Annual Report Download - page 6

 |2015 Annual Report
Our financial performance and
balance sheet strength allowed us
to return more capital to shareholders.
In 2015, we returned $12.6 billion to our
shareholders through common stock
dividends and net share repurchases,
reflecting the fifth consecutive year
in which we returned more capital
to shareholders than in the previous
year. We increased our quarterly
common stock dividend rate
by 7 percent to $0.375 per share,
and we repurchased 78.2 million
shares of our common stock on
a net basis. And we again ended
the year as the world’s most valuable
bank by market capitalization.
We also continued to make
strides in improving our company’s
eciency and reinvesting for the
future. In addition to simplifying our
operations, we reduced our travel
costs by 23 percent in 2015,
and we have eliminated more
than 20 million square feet of
occupied real estate since 2009.
We’re investing those savings
in areas such as innovation, risk
management, and cybersecurity.
Another benefit of our company’s
consistent performance is the ability
to be well positioned for strategic
acquisitions to support growth.
We were pleased to announce an
agreement to acquire GE Capital’s
Commercial Distribution Finance
and Vendor Finance platforms,
as well as a portion of its Corporate
Finance business. We anticipate
adding approximately $31 billion
in assets and welcoming about
2,900 GE Capital team members
to Wells Fargo when the transaction
closes. We also acquired GE Railcar
Services, a railcar finance, leasing,
and fleet management business,
on Jan. 1, 2016, and in the second
quarter of 2015 we completed a GE
Capital commercial real estate loan
portfolio transaction, which included
approximately $11.5 billion in loan
purchases and related financing.
These additions should grow
our business and provide greater
opportunities for us to expand
our relationships with customers.
Our financial performance and
customer focus earned us external
recognition in many ways in 2015.
For example, we ranked No. 7
on Barron’s 2015 ranking of the
world’s “100 Most Respected
Companies” — the fourth year in
a row we ranked highest among
all banks on the list. Euromoney
magazine named Wells Fargo
the “Best Bank in the U.S.”
in its 2015 Awards for Excellence.
And The Banker magazine named
Wells Fargo the Best Global and
U.S. Bank of the Year.
WellsFargo is one of the
most valuable companies
intheworld
By market value as of Dec.31, 2015
(inbillions)
Apple 
Alphabet 
Microsoft 
Berkshire Hathaway 
ExxonMobil 
Amazon.com 
Facebook 
General Electric 
Johnson & Johnson 
WellsFargo 
JPMorgan Chase 
Ind. & Comm. Bank (China) 
U.S. companies except where stated
Source: Bloomberg
Relationships are
at the core of our culture
While accolades are rewarding,
our highest honor is the trust that
customers place in us. And trust
is best built through relationships.
No document better captures
our relationship-based culture and
focus on customers than The Vision
& Values of Wells Fargo, which was
first published more than 20 years
ago. (I invite you to read our
Vision & Values at wellsfargo.Com.)
We bring the Vision & Values to life
each day through delivering on our
six priorities: putting customers
first, growing revenue, managing
expenses, living our vision and
values, connecting with communities
and stakeholders, and managing risk.
These priorities also support
our focus on the relationships
with customers, team members,
communities, and shareholders
that are at the heart of our culture.
Earning relationships
with our customers
We work to make every relationship
— new and old — a lasting one
by following a few simple principles.
We put our customers first and
treat them as our valued guests.
We are committed to our customers’
satisfaction and financial success
and to work in their best interest.
In short, we are on our customers’
side. You will read stories about
how we do that in the following
pages, including how we eased
an older couple’s budgeting
concerns and helped a customer
navigate the used-car buying process.
When we follow these principles,
we gain trust and earn relationships
that reach across decades and
generations. Just as our customers
trusted Wells Fargo and our
Abbot Downing-built stagecoaches
to transport their valuables in the
1800s, they trust us today with their
financial needs.
One example is the Hearst family.
We’ve nurtured a relationship with
the Hearsts for more than 100 years.
George Hearst, an entrepreneur and
mining developer, used Wells Fargo
stagecoaches and express services
to transport gold and silver to
U.S. Mints, starting in the 1860s.
His wife, Phoebe, an active investor
and philanthropist, was a Wells Fargo
investment services and trust customer.
Over the years, our relationship
with the Hearsts broadened as their
business grew from its origins
as a mining company and a single
newspaper to become one
of the world’s top private media
and information companies
encompassing more than
360 businesses in 150 countries.
We are honored to help the Hearst
family and business grow through
a broad assortment of products and
services, and today our ties are as