Wells Fargo Commercial Banking Group Increases Focus on Venture Capital-Backed Companies

Company Expands Offering of Financial Services to Technology Companies in Silicon Valley

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Building on its commitment to the technology industry, Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) today announced it has formed a new Commercial Banking group that is dedicated to venture capital-backed companies. The new San Jose-based group is an extension of the Wells Fargo Technology and Venture Banking Group, which was launched more than a decade ago, and delivers a broad range of financial services for Santa Clara Valley companies in the technology, clean technology, software, mobile, and life sciences industries.

“Wells Fargo currently has banking relations with more than 65 percent of Silicon Valley 150 companies”

“Wells Fargo currently has banking relations with more than 65 percent of Silicon Valley 150 companies,” said Eric Houser, Santa Clara Valley regional vice president for Wells Fargo’s Technology and Commercial Banking Group. “Our new San Jose team builds on our commitment to this sector by focusing on emerging, VC-backed companies that we’d like to support over time with a variety of commercial banking and investment banking services. We have a great track record in doing just that for a number of Silicon Valley’s top tech brands.”

The new group will be led by industry veteran Rob Fernandez and is part of Wells Fargo’s efforts to serve technology companies worldwide. To date, Wells Fargo has established relationships with 500 technology customers in life sciences, information technology services, software, and semiconductors, extending more than $1.6 billion in commitments to these customers.

Wells Fargo’s Commercial Bank serves middle market businesses and is the No. 1 commercial bank in the markets it serves in the U.S. In addition to providing a world-class customer experience for our clients, Wells Fargo commercial bankers also are committed to being good citizens, from charitable giving to volunteering, to public service.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.2 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 9,000 stores, 12,000 ATMs, the Internet (wellsfargo.com and wachovia.com), and other distribution channels across North America and internationally. With approximately 280,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in America. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 23 on Fortune’s 2011 rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy all our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially.