Wells Fargo Focuses on Digital While Cutting Physical

<p>Digital expansion's in the air at Wells Fargo as they extend their Life
Sync tool to nearly 70 million customers. While all is bright and shiny in the
virtual realm, things aren't as rosy in the brick-and-mortar world. </p><p>Wells Fargo's Digital Overhaul</p><p><a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/wells-fargo/">Wells Fargo</a>
is taking its digital offerings to the next level. After initially introducing
the <a href="https://www.wellsfargo.com/the-private-bank/solutions/wealth-planning/#:~:text=What%20is%20LifeSync%3F,make%20more%20informed%20financial%20decisions.">Life
Sync</a> tool to its wealth clients earlier this year, it's now extending
access to this nifty financial planning tool to its massive customer base of
nearly 70 million. So, what exactly is Life Sync? It's an app that lets mobile
users set and track their financial goals, keep an eye on credit scores, and
even connect with financial advisers for some sage wisdom.</p><p>While this isn't exactly rocket science in the digital age, it's nice
to see the bank finally catching up. "We already have around 100,000
goals" set on the tool, which account for $24 billion in financial plans,
said Michael Liersch, head of advice and planning at Wells Fargo. Life Sync
takes things a step further by allowing users to invest and shuffle money
between accounts, all within a few taps on your mobile screen. Now that's
innovation.</p><p>Digital Magic… and Real World Woes</p><p>But let's not get too carried away with the digital wizardry. Yes, this
digital expansion is all well and good, but in the real world, Wells Fargo
seems to be singing a different tune. You see, they've axed around 50,000 jobs
in a massive cost-cutting frenzy. And guess what? They're not done yet! The
bank's leadership is hinting at even more job losses in the pipeline.</p><p>Job cuts have been going on for some time:</p><blockquote><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Wells Fargo cut hundreds of jobs in its mortgage unit this week, adding to thousands of cuts last year <a href="https://t.co/viDl54VEhx">https://t.co/viDl54VEhx</a></p>— Bloomberg (@business) <a href="https://twitter.com/business/status/1628556297732870146?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2023</a></blockquote><p>Not only are staff getting the chop, but Wells Fargo's also done some
serious pruning when it comes to its branches. They've slashed a solid 6% of
their branch count compared to a year ago. So while digital innovation seems to
be their latest crush, it doesn't hide the fact that the bank's not exactly the
picture of efficiency, as per their own CEO. “This company is not efficient —
like, period. End of story,” Charlie Scharf said on the company’s Oct. 13
earnings call. “Even with all of the reductions that we’ve made, it’s not
surprising because as you peel the onion back, other things present themselves.”</p><p>While closing branches, Wells recently announced that it will add 23
branches in Chicago, where it currently operates only seven locations.</p><p>Wells Fargo exceeded Wall Street’s expectations with its third-quarter
earnings of $5.8 billion on revenue of $20.9 billion. This compares to profit
of $3.6 billion on revenue of $19.6 billion in the third quarter of 2022.</p><p>In terms of profits, it seems digital is the way to go, but at what
cost to a bank’s physical assets and staff?</p>

This article was written by Louis Parks at www.financemagnates.com.