Wells Fargo & Co. is in search of a new individual to head the merger and acquisitions department to supersede John Laughlin, who will become the business' vice chairman. According to the person asked not to be identified, both internal and external candidates will be considered. Seven years ago, Laughlin joined Wells Fargo as it acquired the Wachovia Group.
Wells Fargo is trying to accomplish expansion on dealmaking and trading operations that still deliver a small share of total revenue relevant to rivals like JPMorgan Chase & Co. Tim Sloan, chief operating officer enumerate investment banking among three business the company is looking forward to for growth. In Q4, operational fees declined 26% to $385 million from a year earlier as the bank strife to boost market share, Bloomberg reports.
Wells Fargo which is the world's most valuable bank is based in San Francisco but has its East Coast headquarters located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is where Laughlin has been designated and where majority of its bankers sit instead in New York, according to Reuters.
"John Laughlin's appointment to vice chairman recognizes the key role he played in leading a fivefold increase in our M&A business," said Rob Engel, head of investment banking and capital markets at Wells Fargo.
Wells Fargo maybe ranked consistently as one of the top lenders to corporate America, but it has slackened in traditional investment banking areas such as capital markets and financial advisory. Last year, the bank did not make it to the top 20 for advising on the U.S. announcement of mergers and acquisitions. Counterpart bank executives believed that Wells Fargo will soon be able to make further incursion into investment banking, Fortune reported.
Wells got a share of 4.7% from U.S. investment banking fees, and has moved up less than 1 % since 2008 as it Wachovia in developing its banking business. Investors recompense the bank with a higher price-to-book value than other banks like JPMorgan where Wells Fargo trades at 1.48 times compared to JPMorgan's book value of 1.03.
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