Letter: Wells Fargo makes community commitment

Important facts include:

-- In 1996-97, Wells Fargo contributed nearly $800 million to Nevada for community redevelopment. Additionally, as a corporation, we gave more than $1.2 million for Nevada projects and causes, including $250,000 to help teachers fund classroom needs. Funding for 1998 likely will equal or exceed 1996-97 levels. Nevada is hardly an "afterthought," as your editorial claims.

-- The $15 billion commitment to California was noted in a letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan to demonstrate that community redevelopment will continue as a major focus when Wells Fargo and Norwest merge. The letter was leaked to the media before we had the opportunity to determine amounts for all other states. Information will be available when we complete this process.

-- Our customer satisfaction ratings in Nevada are well above national standards for banking and among the highest of all Wells Fargo's 10 states. In nearly every single customer category, we rank at or well into the 90th percentile.

There's no question there were tremendous operational challenges after the 1996 acquisition, especially given that it then was the largest conversion in the history of banking.

The 1,700 Nevadans who work for Wells Fargo deserve a round of applause. They "dug in" during an extremely difficult time to overcome the conversion challenges. And Wells Fargo is especially thankful to the customers, who had faith in us and our ability to overcome challenges.

Wells Fargo employees are proud of what they've done; our customers like banking with Wells Fargo; and no banking operation in Nevada has a better track record than Wells Fargo for community redevelopment and community contribution. Perhaps one day -- soon, we hope -- you'll judge us by what we are today. As fellow Nevadans, we'd appreciate this consideration.

Bryan Waters, Senior vice president, Wells Fargo Nevada Division

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