Business & Tech

Bank Introduces New Name, New Community Focus

The Wachovia on Broad Street officially becomes Wells Fargo. Along with the name change comes a focus on community.

It’s been two years since Wells Fargo and Wachovia merged, creating a trillion-dollar financial system with operations in 39 states. Since then, the Wells Fargo brand and name has spread east from its base in California, converting and upgrading Wachovia branches into Wells Fargo stores in a slow and deliberate crawl across the country.

The conversion just reached New Jersey, with the state’s more than 300 branches switching systems – and name – from Wachovia to Wells Fargo. To celebrate the transformation, and to introduce itself to the community, select Wells Fargo branches in high-visibility locations have celebrated ribbon-cutting ceremonies at newly remodeled stores.

While all Wachovia branches in New Jersey made the name swap this past Saturday, the branch in Red Bank held an unveiling of its new signage as well as a photomural depicting images of the borough’s history Tuesday afternoon. Bank executives and borough officials were on hand to celebrate the unveiling.

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Brenda Ross-Dulan, Region President for southern New Jersey, said the slow transformation is one of design, and represents a chance to not only integrate existing clients, but also forge new community relations.

“For us,” she said. “It’s a symbol of our partnership with the community. This is a name people will recognize for years to come.”

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Part of the plan is to coordinate efforts with local non-profits and volunteer agencies in the Red Bank area. The Broad Street bank, one of more than 60 getting similar treatment throughout the state, also has a photomural depicting scenes from the borough’s history prominently displayed inside.

Among the photos, interspersed with graphical reminders of Wells Fargo’s own history, are images of Count Basie, downtown Red Bank and horse-drawn carriages, and even ice sailing on the Navesink River.

“This is a celebration of key people and artifacts,” Ross-Dulan said. “This is a way to develop a connection with the community.”

Though banking with Wells Fargo is new to most in the area – for the past two years remaining Wachovia branches have simply existed with the “A Wells Fargo Company” identifier – the more than 150-year-old company traces its origins back to the East Coast.

According to a release from the company, Henry Wells and William Fargo founded an express banking company in New York City in 1852 with the goal of delivering goal, mail, and express shipments as quickly as possible. The Wells Fargo logo, a stagecoach, is a reminder of the company’s history.

Though Wells Fargo opened several express offices in New Jersey early in the 20th Century, the company, recently, has grown thanks to other mergers, mostly in the Midwest and West Coast.

The comeback tour is nearly complete. Wells Fargo, which counts its assets at $1.3 trillion and is the fourth largest financial services company in the country, will transition Wachovia branches in New York and Connecticut in March, followed by Florida, Maryland, and Washington D.C. some time later.

Like the transition from Wachovia to Wells Fargo in New Jersey, bank officials plan on taking their time. Touches like carefully planned photomurals are just one of the ways Wells Fargo plans to introducing itself to other communities.

“Wells Fargo historians have worked with local historians to accurately represent the history of the area,” Communications Manager Kevin Friedlander said. “(The murals) really capture the flavor of the town.”


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