Wells Fargo Selling San Francisco HQ in Eastward Expansion

Wells Fargo is reportedly selling its San Francisco headquarters as its leadership heads east.

The banking giant’s office in San Francisco’s Financial District could go up for sale as soon as this month, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Wednesday (Dec. 3), citing sources familiar with the matter.

One of the sources said the bank has already begun informal conversations with potential buyers. A spokeswoman for Wells Fargo told the WSJ the bank continually examines its real-estate assets “to ensure we are best meeting the needs of employees and customers, responding to consumer and economic trends, and managing our costs responsibly.”

The report notes that the sale would be in keeping with a yearslong move by Wells Fargo away from San Francisco, as most of its top executives are centered in New York or Charlotte, NC. The latter city has served as the bank’s largest base of employees since Wells Fargo acquired Wachovia in 2008.

CEO Charlie Scharf, the WSJ said, is based in New York, where he has sought to bolster Wells’ investment banking business, while also expanding its physical footprint in Hudson Yards.

A spokeswoman said the company has operated in San Francisco since the 1850s and that “the city remains important to the bank.” Wells Fargo has roughly 23,000 employees in California, making up 10% of its workforce. 

In other banking news, PYMNTS wrote earlier this week about efforts by a number of banks to improve their anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) practices.

For example, TD Bank is selecting compliance monitors to track its progress on risk and controls and report to regulators. And the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in September signed a formal agreement with Wells Fargo to improve deficiencies in its AML  and financial crimes risk management practices.

“With 2025 approaching, among the best ways for businesses to avoid penalties that erode both the bottom line and end-user trust is to embrace a proactive approach to AML/KYC,” PYMNTS wrote. “And next-generation technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) tools can help financial institutions detect and prevent AML anomalies better and faster than they ever could before.”

AML, that report added, is not just about maintaining a banking license but also about safeguarding customers, reputations and the ability to innovate. Banks that don’t invest in sophisticated AML operations can risk “falling behind not only in compliance but in their ability to serve customers effectively,” PYMNTS wrote.