Wells Fargo is improving its customer experience with investments in branch technology and enhanced self-service options.
“We continue to optimize and invest in our branch network,” Wells Fargo Chief Executive Charlie Scharf said during today’s second-quarter earnings call. “We are accelerating our efforts to refurbish our branches, completing 296 during the first half of this year, and are on track to update all of our branches within the next five years.”
The bank’s footprint is down 5% year over year to 4,227, according to the bank’s Q2 earnings supplement.
The branch optimization includes:
- Investment in branch employees;
(Courtesy/Bloomberg)
- Improving technology; and
- Offering digital account opening.
BIGGER PICTURE: As the bank leans into branch optimization, it’s also seeing growth in mobile and digital usership, according to the earnings presentation.
Mobile adoption during the quarter increased 6% YoY to 30.8 million customers and the number of digital banking users grew 4% YoY to 35.6 million, according to the presentation.
Additionally, the bank’s AI-driven chatbot, Fargo, which launched last year, has reached 15 million users and over 117 million interactions, Scharf said. “We expect this momentum to continue as we make further enhancements to offer our customers additional self-service features and value-added insights,” he said.
BY THE NUMBERS: Wells Fargo reported in Q2:
- Net income fell 1% YoY to $4.9 billion;
- The efficiency ratio clocked in at 64, from 63 during the same period last year; and
- Net interest income fell 9% YoY to $11.9 billion.
MARKET REACTION: Shares in Wells Fargo (WFC) were down 6.3% from market open to $56.40 at 2:45 p.m. ET. Wells Fargo has a market capitalization of $196.5 billion.
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