Wells Targets Spanish-Speakers For Preapproved Business Credit

Wells Fargo & Co.'s direct mail campaign to sell small-business credit lines is getting even bigger.

Wells will mail solicitations specifically designed for Spanish-speaking small-business owners, it announced last week.

The San Francisco banking company said it will work with a trade association of Spanish-speaking entrepreneurs in a partnership similar to one the company has with a group of women who are business owners.

As part of its program to lend to female business owners, Wells has mailed preapproved credit line offers for up to $75,000 to female entrepreneurs nationwide.

As the second-largest bank lender to small businesses, Wells shook up the banking industry when it began making loans nationwide by direct mail in 1994.

The mail campaign, coupled with the acquisition of First Interstate Bancorp, pushed Wells' small-business loan portfolio to $3.9 billion at mid-1996, from $1.4 billion at mid-1994.

The banking company also began mailing preapproved loan applications to small-business owners in Canada last month.

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