Wells Fargo CEO letter to shareholders, 2025

About this letter

Charles W. Scharf, chairman and chief executive of Wells Fargo, wrote this letter to shareholders for the bank's 2025 annual report, dated 16 March 2026. The year it reviews included what he calls a critical milestone: the Federal Reserve's lifting, in June 2025, of the asset cap that had constrained the bank's growth since 2018.

The letter reports net income of $21.3 billion for 2025 and reviews each of the four business segments: Consumer Banking and Lending, Commercial Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth and Investment Management. It then covers risk and control work, awards to employees, competition from fintechs, payments, digital assets and tokenization, artificial intelligence, the regulatory approach of the new administration, and the bank's view of its franchise and opportunities.

What to notice

1. 1

   Scharf reports meeting the goal set after late 2020 of lifting return on tangible common equity from 8% to 15%, though 2025's figure was 14.6%, and says the bank can deliver stronger results.

“Not to be dramatic, but AI will probably be the most impactful development”