Wells Fargo is one of the four largest U.S. banks, with ~$2.1T in assets, operating almost entirely in the U.S. across consumer banking, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth management. The core business model earns net interest income by taking in deposits at a lower cost and deploying funds into loans and securities at a higher yield, supplemented by fee income from asset management, investment banking, card fees, and trading. Wells Fargo's financial trajectory has been uniquely shaped by a Federal Reserve asset cap imposed in 2018 following the fake accounts scandal, which constrained balance sheet growth for years. The asset cap was lifted in June 2025, unlocking Wells Fargo's ability to grow deposits, expand trading assets, and compete more aggressively across all businesses. Wells Fargo is pursuing a multi-year effort to close a returns gap versus large-bank peers, with key growth priorities including credit cards, auto lending, investment banking, and wealth management. In investment banking, Wells Fargo is explicitly targeting a top-5 U.S. position, having hired over 125 managing directors since 2019 and gained meaningful market share. A major driver of improving profitability has been expense reduction — headcount has declined from ~276,000 in 2020 to ~205,000 in 2025, with ~$15B in gross expense saves reinvested into growth initiatives.