Wachovia to become Wells Fargo in October

GAINESVILLE - Wells Fargo & Company says Wachovia signs and systems will change to Wells Fargo in late October at seven Wachovia locations in Gainesville and a total of nearly 280 bank branches across Georgia when the largest bank merger in U.S. history moves to its first states in the East.

To mark the occasion and underscore its commitment to communities, the company announced a $15,000 contribution by the Wachovia Wells Fargo Foundation to the Medical Center Foundation for the STEMI project, an initiative to help improve emergency medical care for acute heart attack patients in North Georgia.

Right now Gainesville residents can preview how Wells Fargo will serve customers at bank stores across the area. Customers will already find more tellers and bankers providing enhanced products and services from Wells Fargo, such as homeowners and renters insurance, identity theft protection and credit card and payroll services for small businesses.

While most of those serving customers are the same team members as before, the company has also hired 15 tellers and bankers across Gainesville and a total of 35 across North Georgia in a shift to the Wells Fargo model, which requires more team members to provide even better care for customers. In advance of the changeover all bank stores in Gainesville and across Georgia will be remodeled to the open Wells Fargo layout, allowing the company to provide more services to more customers.

"We're working hard to be the best local bank in Gainesville with all the advantages of a great national bank," said Glen Kelley, community bank president for the North Georgia region. "Gainesville residents like what we're doing and we're looking forward to the transition in October - at which point we'll have even more products and services for our customers."

Also preceding the conversion has been the installation across Gainesville of state-of-the-art Envelope-
FreeSM ATMs that help the environment by eliminating the need for envelopes or deposit slips, and help consumers by accepting stacks of up to 30 checks or 50 cash bills. The ATMs also help small businesses by offering an 8 p.m. deadline for check deposits, with funds available at midnight, meaning deposits can be made after the close of the business day.

Added Kelley, "We're dedicated to meeting as many of our customers' financial needs as possible and the new offerings are already helping. These are more ways we can help them succeed financially."

The company has No. 2 market share in Gainesville of nearly 16 percent and deposits of $392 million, according to the FDIC. It employs nearly 100 team members in business lines ranging from consumer and business banking to mortgage to retirement services to insurance.

The Wells Fargo branding will be added to Wachovia banks in Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi in September.

Wachovia merged with Wells Fargo on Dec. 31, 2008. The company has previously announced conversions in five states where both Wells Fargo and Wachovia had retail banking operations: Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois and Nevada. Colorado banking stores successfully integrated last November. Banking stores in Arizona, Illinois and Nevada began operating under the Wells Fargo name in March. Wachovia's conversion in California was completed in April, and Texas and Kansas are scheduled for this July.

Other integrations already completed include Wachovia Securities' change to Wells Fargo Advisors, and Wachovia Mortgage's change to Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.