Wells Fargo to Open Bank for Super Rich; Need to Take Finger Off Nation's Pulse First

[xchrom]

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/11/wells_fargo_to.php

Stand down, Zuccotti protesters, the banks have heard your calls for reform and are yielding to your demands. The majority of the country has been enveloped in financial turmoil, and one of the big banks is finally taking steps to institute change: Wells Fargo is creating a boutique bank for the super rich. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the wealth management unit will be named "Abbot Downing" and will only service families with more than $50 million in their coffers. Rumor has it, when you open an account you get free Looney Tunes checks.

Wells Fargo is combining its existing boutique firm Lowry Hill with its Family Wealth department to create Abbot Downing, and it's slated to begin operations next April. The name Abbot Downing comes from a 19th century high-end stagecoach manufacturer, and it is appropriate considering America's wealth disparity is nearing 1830's levels.

The Sun-Times reports the firm will feature "a full range of services to cater to the super rich, complete with psychologists and staff to build family genealogies." For people who don't have $50 million, Wells Fargo offers other investment options that better suit their needs:

[lunatica]

1. Over 6,000 locations and only one will be for the very rich

That's about right. But what to they have against the poorer rich?

I first thought this was form the Onion

[FarCenter]

2. These won't be in the 6000 branches (or "stores" in WF nomenclature)

"The new Abbot Downing brand, set to launch in April, will seek to expand Wells' market share among the 10,000 households with $50 million or more in investable assets, the bank says."

They'll need to set up a few dozen offices to serve the potential market of 10,000 households.

Update: They will have 15 offices to start: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Scottsdale, Denver, Houston, Minneapolis, Chicago, Philadelphia, Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Raleigh, Naples, Jacksonville, Washington, D.C., and Palm Beach.

Nothing on Wall Street. Rich people don't live there.