Wells Fargo & Co.'s chief financial officer said it is not interested in bank acquisitions in the Southeast.
"East of the Mississippi is like the international marketplace for Wells Fargo: it's not really where we want to be," Howard Atkins said. He spoke at the Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. investor conference in New York.
He reiterated that the San Francisco company's strategy is to grow through cross-selling in its existing markets.
Investors routinely speculate about Wells moving into the Southeast through a banking acquisition.
On Aug. 9, shortly after being named president and chief operating officer, John G. Stumpf fueled the speculation when he said at a conference that there were several organizations in the Southeast "that potentially we could be part of … or they could be part of us."
Mr. Stumpf and other company executives have downplayed that comment.
