WASHINGTON — Wells Fargo & Co. joined its large bank peers by announcing on Monday night that it is repaying the $25 billion it received from the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
The repayment makes Wells the last bank to return government funds of the initial nine institutions that were part of the program.
"TARP stabilized our country's financial system when confidence in financial markets around the world was being tested unlike any other period in our history," Wells Fargo President and CEO John Stumpf said in a press release announcing the repayment. "Its success also generated financial returns for taxpayers, including $1.4 billion in dividends paid to the U.S. Treasury by Wells Fargo. Now we're ready to fully repay TARP in a way that serves the interests of the U.S. taxpayer, as well as our customers, team members and investors."
Under the agreement, which is subject to approval from regulators, Wells will issue common stock with proceeds of $10.4 billion, raise $1.35 billion through common stock to employees in lieu of cash compensation, and raise $1.5 billion of equity through asset sales, approved by the Federal Reserve Board. To the extent the asset sales are not completed by 2010, Wells would then raise an equal amount of common equity, the company said.
After repaying Tarp, Wells said its Tier 1 common equity ratio will be 6.2%. Repaying Tarp will also eliminate $1.25 billion in annual preferred stock dividends.
The company said the repayment is expected to reduce income available to common shareholders in the fourth quarter by $2 billion.
The news comes the same day that executives from several banks, including Wells, met at the White House with President Obama, who pushed them to do their part for the economy in exchange for the Tarp capital. It also comes on the heels of Bank of America repaying its Tarp funds and the same day as Citigroup Inc. announced that regulators had approved it repaying its capital.
