Wells Fargo 2013 Annual Report Download - page 6

Our capital also grew and remained well above
regulatory minimum levels. Our Tier1 common equity
at the end of 2013 was $123.5billion, up 13percent
from 2012, resulting in a Tier1 common equity ratio
of 10.82percent under BaselI. Under BaselIII capital
rules, our estimated Common Equity Tier1 ratio was
9.76percent.1
We also increased returns for our shareholders. Our
full-year return on assets rose to 1.51percent, up 10basis
points from 2012, and our full-year return on equity was
13.87percent, up 92basis points from 2012. In2013, we
returned $11.4billion to shareholders through dividends
and share repurchases. We increased our regular
quarterly dividend by 36percent, to 30cents per share,
and purchased 124million shares of our common stock
in2013. We are further pleased that the market rewarded
our shareholders, as our common stock price increased
33percent in2013.
We are proud of what we accomplished in2013
because the results reflect how we are helping our
customers. And we know the road ahead will continue to
require a strong commitment to our customers and the
communities we serve.
Helping individuals and businesses
in the real economy
We recognize the struggles many are experiencing in this
economy and remain committed to doing all that we can to
help individuals and businesses prosper and succeed. We
support the real economy in many ways, including enabling
people to buy new homes, providing needed capital for
business investment and expansion, and helping consumers
plan for retirement.
Creating new homeowners and helping keep people
intheir homes
Housing is a cornerstone of the economy, and
homeownership is the foundation of neighborhoods
large and small. For most people, their home is their
largest and most important asset. We are proud to be the
nation’s largest home lender, and every day get to see
the dierence that a home can make in people’s lives and
intheir communities.
In2013, we provided financing to 1.5million consumers
to purchase homes or refinance existing mortgages.
Buying a home typically fuels additional spending—
newfurniture, appliances, or renovations— that benefits
local businesses and creates jobs. Because of this
multiplier eect, a housing recovery has led every
economic recovery in recent history.
Just as important, we are helping people stay in their
homes. WellsFargo is a leader in preventing foreclosures—
since 2009, we have completed more than 904,000 home
loan modifications and provided $7.7billion in principal
1 For more information regarding our regulatory capital and related ratios determined
under Basel I and Basel III, please see the “Financial Review – Capital Management”
section in this Report.
forgiveness. We also have participated in nearly 1,200
home preservation events, including hosting 107 of our
own workshops where we have met one-on-one with
nearly 45,000 customers facing financial hardships.
Inaddition, through WellsFargo LIFT programs, we
oer down payment assistance and education to potential
homeowners in communities most deeply impacted by
the recession. We have committed $190million to our
LIFT programs, and since early 2012, we have provided
down payment assistance to help more than 5,000 people
buy homes in 24markets. In2013, we expanded our
assistance through UrbanLIFT,SM a program that awarded
$11.4million in grants to local nonprofits to accelerate
economic recovery and neighborhood improvement
projects in 25communities across the U.S.
Meeting the needs of businesses – small and large
We know for our economy to fully recover, we need
businesses to grow and add jobs. Small businesses are
the growth engines in every community, and as the
nation’s largest lender to small businesses, we are helping
business owners every day get the capital and financial
services they need.
In2013, WellsFargo extended $18.9billion in new loan
commitments to small businesses (primarily those with
annual revenues of less than $20million), up 18percent
from 2012. We were the nation’s largest provider of
Small Business Administration (SBA) loans based on
dollar volume for the fifth consecutive year. WellsFargo
approved a record $1.47billion in SBA7(a) loans during
federal fiscal year 2013 (October2012 – September2013),
up 18percent from the prior year.
We also fund mid-sized and large companies, helping
them grow both domestically and internationally.
In2013, our average commercial and industrial loans
rose to $188billion, up 8percent from 2012. We work
side by side with these businesses through our extensive
network of commercial banking oces in all 50states,
providing our commercial customers with financial
services like treasury management, insurance, capital
finance, asset-based lending, commercial real estate, and
foreign exchange. We also operate oces in international
locations— including Hong Kong, London, Sydney, and
Toronto— tomeet the global needs of our corporate
customers and provide services to financial institutions
around the world.
Helping people plan and prepare for retirement
As a leading retirement services provider— weadminister
about $341billion in IRA assets and $298billion in 401(k)
and institutional retirement plan assets— WellsFargo
understands the importance of investing and saving for
the future.
About 10,000 people retire every day, and most are
expected to live longer in retirement than their parents and
grandparents. Yet study after study shows that too many
Americans are not adequately prepared for retirement and
