Warren Buffett Explains Why He Sold Wells Fargo Stock

Warren Buffett recently sold the entirety of his Wells Fargo stock holding from his equity portfolio, partly on account of widespread fraud within the company which he explains in more detail in this video.

[phrozenlife]

I worked for Hells Fargo before that all went down. Buffet Doesn't know the half of it, though he is correct in pointing out that It was the incentives Structuring. though instead of "Incentive" as he & the bank used to call it, it was more of a "Requirement" with the threat of your job regularly being attached to those conversations. It opened up to the door to massive gaming of the system, and violating the Vision statement by pushing products that weren't obviously right for the customer. In the end John Stumph I'm sure knew what was going on, but H.R. Dept. would dismiss anything that came across their desks, throw it back to the District Manager (The Problem) essentially ratting the person out and telling them to deal with the person that had an issue with them (I'm sure you can imagine how well that system worked) When I quit in 2013 I sent an 8 page letter to H.R outlining everything I saw and that it would catch up with them.... less than 2 years later it caught up with them.

[thegodblogger]

Because corporations can only grow so much organically, they often resort to creative measures that stretch integrity, honesty, and good business practices.

[inctru]

The fact that Wells Fargo has any customers at all speaks volumes about the corruption, sociopathy & apathy that has been normalized in our society over these last 43 years.

[gregparrott]

This is almost a YEAR out of date. Buffet COMPLETED his sales of Wells Fargo last May.

[emerald]

Wells Fargo should've been dissolved long time ago. They seem to break the law every year and have to pay a fine, while their customers keep getting screwed over. It's time to break them up and liquidate their assets.

[racerx]

Good marketing for See's peanut brittle... 99 year old survives on candy!! Go Charlie.

[msmith]

I've banked at WF for a decades and remember the period where every time I went in they would try to 'upgrade' me to some thing or another. Nothing that ever cost me, but it definitely felt weird, gave me the bee-bee jee-bees, like I had just walked onto an used car lot with greasy-haired salesmen. Banking is supposed to be boring. People deposit their money in an account, the bank pays some sort of interest, they charge you a fee for their services, and they make loans to other people at higher rates. It's boring. Boring, boring, boring. If you want excitement, become a stock trader or stunt man.

[johnclark]

Wells Fargo should have prosecuted under the RICO laws, broken up and the parts sold off.

[patrickfuchs]

Wells Fargo took control of my mother's funds stating she was not a US citizen, yet she was born in the US and had spent 75 years here. It took two years to convince the bank of their error. No apology was given and no interest earned during their investigation. Horrible business.

[TeresaBrickle]

Warren Buffett is a master at exercising patience. With a long-term perspective, he has stayed with the markets. This is what I'm attempting to work on as I try to learn how to ignore market news concerning inflation and other things. Currently, I have roughly $253k saved up to sell at the present low pricing. Any thoughts?

[christopherwagner]

The customers already knew all about that. All Buffet had to do was ask his neighbors.

[marksmith]

Wells Fargo and Wells Fargo Advisors...The worst customer service....End of story

[michaels]

I bank at Wells Fargo and I recently called them on their aggressive multiple account sales pitch that I eventually got ground down and agreed to 10-12 years ago and they compensated me and straitened it out. This disclosure by Warren Buffett, if it is a full one, did not explain anything in detail. Yes, when your plate is full you can get cajoled into agreeing to things because you just don't have time to think them out. Keep your eyes on any bank you deal with.

[off_mah_lawn]

Charlie Munger chowing down on that peanut brittle had me on the floor

[shawnmorrow]

BWAHAHA Charlie Munger chomping on the peanut brittle. Priceless!

[jeffday]

Warren and Charlie are absolutely correct. I had my business account thru Wells Fargo and entrusted them with too much and it bit me pretty hard. Most of the issues were ethical ones and it was systemic. To say the least I was disappointed in what they did resulting in class action lawsuits. I knew folks at the bank personally and it shone a dark light on them. It's unfortunate because I feel differently about the banks now as a result.

[natehendricksen]

The primary focus is damage to the business. I might have missed where he mentioned his concern for the customers that have been ripped off.

[marymccluer]

Great advice in so many ways. It is always better to prevent problems than deal with the fall out after they occur.

[robedmund]

Not sure why most people would do business with Wells Fargo. Or any major bank for that matter. So many better options out there.

[hrearden]

I wonder if anyone has contacted the hotline and said, " the guy next to me eats too much peanut brittle".