Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) is by and large considered the best in breed of all the major US banks. Warren Buffett is certainly an outspoken fan of the company. But outside of a few investment managers who periodically sing the bank’s praises, Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) tends to stay out of the spotlight (which over the past five years is a definite positive, see here, here, and here for just a few examples).
To get to the bottom of this, I’ve compiled 7 charts to try and figure out how exactly they do it. In the end, the answer is simpler than you may think.
1. Growth
Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) is a big bank, one of only four in the US with total assets greater than $1 trillion (along with JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC), and Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C)). However, they stand out amongst the big four as having far and away the best top line growth from 2011 to 2012.
Growth is obviously good, but this chart also points out a symptom of another issue with the big banks — troubled balance sheets. Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) and Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) specifically are still battling to work out assets and businesses that collapsed during the recession. The poor decisions made in 2004-2006 that led to the Financial Crisis are still preventing these two banks from moving forward, even after five years.
It is also worth noting the other strong performers on this chart, U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) and PNC Financial Services (NYSE:PNC). These two banks are considered regionals (even though they are the 9th and 12th largest respectively as of Dec. 31, 2012, with over $650 billion combined assets), and like Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC), they were very successful working through the recession and rebounding of late. Take note of the regional bank theme, we’ll see it again.
2. Getting Maximum Bang for your Buck
Where else does Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) really stand out? Squeezing every penny out of the assets on the books. In the industry, Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) is known as the preeminent cross-selling institution, and this is where that bears fruit.
Compared to the other $1 trillion+ banks, Wells produces nearly a third more dollars of revenue per dollar of assets than second place JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM).
Before seeing this chart, you may have said, “Maybe overall they squeeze more revenue, but no way Wells competes on fee productivity without being big in investment banking like JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC), or C!”
But the reality is that Wells is not only able to compete, but once again win. The key is their dominance in the small business and consumer mortgage sectors — driven by robust fee income from mortgage originations and from the “Wells Fargo Advisors” investment management business.
Barlow Research Associates published a report this week detailing market share in the small business and middle market segments. The conclusion? Overall the big banks are losing market share to smaller institutions (like community banks), but Wells Fargo is holding its ground. Wells maintained a constant 10% of the small business market over the past 10 years and currently holds an industry leading 10% market share of the middle markets.
Again, the data indicates that an old-fashioned style of commercial and retail banking is outperforming the glitz and glamour of Wall Street. Just like the regional banks and community banks, Wells’ focus is on cross-selling loan, deposit, and cash management products between the consumer at home, the small business, and the middle market.
It almost seems too simple, but the numbers prove it out. Old-fashion banking is winning in the marketplace today.
3. The Markets Don’t Like Surprises
Standard deviation, put simply, is a measure of how consistent and predictable an outcome is. A low standard deviation indicates low volatility, while a high standard deviation means that anything could happen.
What this chart illustrates is that over the past four full calendar years, only JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) has a more consistent and predictable ROA from quarter to quarter.
Why is that important?
Its important because no one is ever caught off guard with wild swings, positive or negative. It doesn’t cause a stir. It doesn’t rattle the cages of the market.
Think back to the wild ride some of these banks have had since the recession ended and how they have managed through: it distracts management, it hurts the bank’s reputation in the marketplace, and most significantly it causes the bank to backpedal and play defense.
At this point it should come as no surprise that Wells Fargo, US Bancorp and PNC consistently produce the best ratio of fees to average assets over the past 10 years.
The simple model of banking hasn’t changed in the last 10 years or even the last 100. What works today also worked yesterday, and will work tomorrow. The fundamental difference between Wells and the other mega banks (JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC), C) is that Wells operates like a regional bank.
And the results speak for themselves
Combine all of these factors — growth, revenue efficiency, and consistency — and what do you get? You get a best in class bank with best-in-class returns relative to equity and to assets.
How do they do it? Wells does it very similarly to how PNC and US Bancorp do it (by the way, how impressive was US Bancorp’s first quarter?!). They all keep it simple with blocking and tackling commercial and retail banking.
The takeaway comes back full circle to Warren Buffett. Never invest in a business you can not understand. Wells Fargo is a big bank that is still simple enough to understand.
The article 7 Charts Show Why This Bank Is Best of Breed originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Jay Jenkins.
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