{
  "ticker": "WFC",
  "company": "Wells Fargo & Company",
  "filing_type": "10-K",
  "year_current": "2024",
  "year_prior": "2023",
  "summary": {
    "added": 0,
    "removed": 0,
    "modified": 1,
    "unchanged": 6,
    "total_current": 7,
    "total_prior": 7
  },
  "source": "SEC EDGAR",
  "url": "https://riskdiff.com/wfc/2024-vs-2023/",
  "markdown_url": "https://riskdiff.com/wfc/2024-vs-2023/index.md",
  "json_url": "https://riskdiff.com/wfc/2024-vs-2023/index.json",
  "access": "public_preview",
  "source_filings": [
    {
      "label": "2024 10-K filing on SEC EDGAR",
      "url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/72971/000007297124000064/0000072971-24-000064-index.htm"
    },
    {
      "label": "2023 10-K filing on SEC EDGAR",
      "url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/72971/000007297123000071/0000072971-23-000071-index.htm"
    }
  ],
  "generated": "2026-09-28",
  "ai_summary": null,
  "ai_brief": null,
  "risks": [
    {
      "status": "MODIFIED",
      "current_title": "COMPETITIVE RISKS",
      "prior_title": "COMPETITIVE RISKS",
      "severity": {
        "deterministic": 4,
        "ai_bump": 0,
        "total": 4,
        "tier": "medium",
        "signal_hits": [
          "workforce"
        ]
      },
      "similarity_score": 0.887,
      "confidence": "high",
      "key_changes": [
        "Reworded sentence: \"We compete with other financial institutions in a highly competitive industry that is undergoing significant changes as a result of financial regulatory reform, technological advances, increased public scrutiny, and economic conditions.\"",
        "Reworded sentence: \"In addition, our ability to reposition or reprice our products and services from time to time may be limited and could be influenced significantly by the economic, regulatory and political environment for large financial institutions as well as by the actions of our competitors.\"",
        "Reworded sentence: \"We may not respond effectively to these and other competitive threats from existing and new competitors and may be forced to offer products and services at lower prices, increase our investment in our business to modify or adapt our existing products and services, and/or develop new products and services to respond to our customers’ needs and preferences.\"",
        "Reworded sentence: \"In order to attract and retain highly qualified employees, we must provide competitive compensation, benefits and work arrangements, effectively manage employee performance and development, and foster a diverse and inclusive environment.\"",
        "Added sentence: \"Similarly, union organizing activity, some of which has been successful, could continue to increase our operational complexity and costs.\""
      ],
      "current_body": "We face significant and increasing competition in the rapidly evolving financial services industry. We compete with other financial institutions in a highly competitive industry that is undergoing significant changes as a result of financial regulatory reform, technological advances, increased public scrutiny, and economic conditions. Our success depends on, among other things, our ability to develop and maintain deep and enduring relationships with our customers based on the quality of our customer service, the wide variety of products and services that we can offer our customers and the ability of those products and services to satisfy our customers’ needs and preferences, the pricing of our products and services, the extensive distribution channels available for our customers, our innovation, and our reputation. Continued or increased competition in any one or all of these areas may negatively affect our customer relationships, market share and results of operations and/or cause us to increase our capital investment in our businesses in order to remain competitive. In addition, our ability to reposition or reprice our products and services from time to time may be limited and could be influenced significantly by the economic, regulatory and political environment for large financial institutions as well as by the actions of our competitors. Furthermore, any changes in the types of products and services that we offer our customers and/or the pricing for those products and services could result in a loss of customer relationships and market share and could materially adversely affect our results of operations. Continued technological advances and the growth of e-commerce have made it possible for non-depository institutions to offer products and services that traditionally were banking products, and for financial institutions and other companies to provide electronic and internet-based financial solutions, including electronic securities trading, lending and payment solutions. In addition, technological advances, including digital currencies and alternative payment methods, may diminish the importance of depository institutions and other financial intermediaries in the transfer of funds between parties. We may not respond effectively to these and other competitive threats from existing and new competitors and may be forced to offer products and services at lower prices, increase our investment in our business to modify or adapt our existing products and services, and/or develop new products and services to respond to our customers’ needs and preferences. To the extent we are not successful in developing and introducing new products and services or responding or adapting to the competitive landscape or to changes in customer preferences, we may lose customer relationships and our growth prospects and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.Our ability to attract and retain qualified employees is critical to the success of our business and failure to do so could adversely affect our business performance, competitive position and future prospects. The success of Wells Fargo is heavily dependent on the talents and efforts of our employees, including our senior leaders, and in many areas of our business, including commercial banking, brokerage, investment advisory, capital markets, risk management, and technology, the competition for highly qualified personnel is intense. We also seek to retain a pipeline of employees to provide continuity of succession for our senior leadership positions. In order to attract and retain highly qualified employees, we must provide competitive compensation, benefits and work arrangements, effectively manage employee performance and development, and foster a diverse and inclusive environment. As a large financial institution and additionally to the extent we remain subject to consent orders we may be subject to limitations on compensation by our regulators that may adversely affect our ability to attract and retain these qualified employees, especially if some of our competitors may not be subject to these same compensation limitations. Similarly, union organizing activity, some of which has been successful, could continue to increase our operational complexity and costs. In addition, our response to this activity could be perceived negatively and harm our reputation and business, subject us to legal actions, or adversely affect our ability to attract and retain qualified employees. If we are unable to continue to attract and retain qualified employees, including successors for senior leadership positions, our business performance, competitive position and future prospects may be adversely affected.FINANCIAL REPORTING RISKS Changes in accounting standards, and changes in how accounting standards are interpreted or applied, could materially affect our financial results and condition. From time to time the FASB and the SEC update the financial accounting and reporting standards that govern the preparation of our external financial statements. In addition, accounting standard setters and those who interpret the accounting standards (such as the FASB, SEC, and banking regulators) may update their previous interpretations or positions on how these standards should be applied. Changes in financial accounting and reporting standards and changes in current interpretations are typically beyond our control, can be hard to predict, and could materially affect our financial results and condition, including requiring a retrospective restatement of prior period financial statements. Similarly, any change in our accounting policies could also materially affect our financial statements. For additional information, see the “Current Accounting Developments” section in this Report. financial intermediaries in the transfer of funds between parties. We may not respond effectively to these and other competitive threats from existing and new competitors and may be forced to offer products and services at lower prices, increase our investment in our business to modify or adapt our existing products and services, and/or develop new products and services to respond to our customers’ needs and preferences. To the extent we are not successful in developing and introducing new products and services or responding or adapting to the competitive landscape or to changes in customer preferences, we may lose customer relationships and our growth prospects and results of operations may be materially adversely affected. Our ability to attract and retain qualified employees is critical to the success of our business and failure to do so could adversely affect our business performance, competitive position and future prospects. The success of Wells Fargo is heavily dependent on the talents and efforts of our employees, including our senior leaders, and in many areas of our business, including commercial banking, brokerage, investment advisory, capital markets, risk management, and technology, the competition for highly qualified personnel is intense. We also seek to retain a pipeline of employees to provide continuity of succession for our senior leadership positions. In order to attract and retain highly qualified employees, we must provide competitive compensation, benefits and work arrangements, effectively manage employee performance and development, and foster a diverse and inclusive environment. As a large financial institution and additionally to the extent we remain subject to consent orders we may be subject to limitations on compensation by our regulators that may adversely affect our ability to attract and retain these qualified employees, especially if some of our competitors may not be subject to these same compensation limitations. Similarly, union organizing activity, some of which has been successful, could continue to increase our operational complexity and costs. In addition, our response to this activity could be perceived negatively and harm our reputation and business, subject us to legal actions, or adversely affect our ability to attract and retain qualified employees. If we are unable to continue to attract and retain qualified employees, including successors for senior leadership positions, our business performance, competitive position and future prospects may be adversely affected.",
      "prior_body": "We face significant and increasing competition in the rapidly evolving financial services industry. We compete with other financial institutions in a highly competitive industry that is undergoing significant changes as a result of financial regulatory reform, technological advances, increased public scrutiny, and current economic conditions. Our success depends on, among other things, our ability to develop and maintain deep and enduring relationships with our customers based on the quality of our customer service, the wide variety of products and services that we can offer our customers and the ability of those products and services to satisfy our customers’ needs and preferences, the pricing of our products and services, the extensive distribution channels available for our customers, our innovation, and our reputation. Continued or increased competition in any one or all of these areas may negatively affect our customer relationships, market share and results of operations and/or cause us to increase our capital investment in our businesses in order to remain competitive. In addition, our ability to reposition or reprice our products and services from time to time may be limited and could be influenced significantly by the current economic, regulatory and political environment for large financial institutions as well as by the actions of our competitors. Furthermore, any changes in the types of products and services that we offer our customers and/or the pricing for those products and services could result in a loss of customer relationships and market share and could materially adversely affect our results of operations. Continued technological advances and the growth of e-commerce have made it possible for non-depository institutions to offer products and services that traditionally were banking products, and for financial institutions and other companies to provide electronic and internet-based financial solutions, including electronic securities trading, lending and payment solutions. In addition, technological advances, including digital currencies and alternative payment methods, may diminish the importance of depository institutions and other financial intermediaries in the transfer of funds between parties. We may not respond effectively to these and other competitive threats from existing and new competitors and may be forced to sell products at lower prices, increase our investment in our business to modify or adapt our existing products and services, and/or develop new products and services to respond to our customers’ needs and preferences. To the extent we are not successful in developing and introducing new products and services or responding or adapting to the competitive landscape or to changes in customer preferences, we may lose customer relationships and our revenue growth and results of operations may be materially adversely affected. Our ability to attract and retain qualified employees is critical to the success of our business and failure to do so could adversely affect our business performance, competitive position and future prospects. The success of Wells Fargo is heavily dependent on the talents and efforts of our employees, including our senior leaders, and in many areas of our business, including commercial banking, brokerage, investment advisory, capital markets, risk management and technology, the competition for highly qualified personnel is intense. We also seek to retain a pipeline of employees to provide continuity of succession for our senior leadership positions. In order to attract Wells Fargo & Company81 Wells Fargo & Company81 Wells Fargo & Company81 81 Risk Factors (continued) Risk Factors (continued) and retain highly qualified employees, we must provide competitive compensation, benefits and work arrangements, effectively manage employee performance and development, and foster a diverse and inclusive environment. As a large financial institution and additionally to the extent we remain subject to consent orders we may be subject to limitations on compensation by our regulators that may adversely affect our ability to attract and retain these qualified employees, especially if some of our competitors may not be subject to these same compensation limitations. If we are unable to continue to attract and retain qualified employees, including successors for senior leadership positions, our business performance, competitive position and future prospects may be adversely affected.FINANCIAL REPORTING RISKS Changes in accounting standards, and changes in how accounting standards are interpreted or applied, could materially affect our financial results and condition. From time to time the FASB and the SEC update the financial accounting and reporting standards that govern the preparation of our external financial statements. In addition, accounting standard setters and those who interpret the accounting standards (such as the FASB, SEC, and banking regulators) may update their previous interpretations or positions on how these standards should be applied. Changes in financial accounting and reporting standards and changes in current interpretations may be beyond our control, can be hard to predict, and could materially affect our financial results and condition, including requiring a retrospective restatement of prior period financial statements. Similarly, any change in our accounting policies could also materially affect our financial statements. For additional information, see the “Current Accounting Developments” section in this Report.Our financial statements require certain assumptions and estimates and rely on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Pursuant to U.S. GAAP, we are required to use certain assumptions and estimates in preparing our financial statements, including, among other items, in determining the allowance for credit losses, the liability for contingent litigation losses, and the fair value of certain assets and liabilities such as debt securities, loans held for sale, MSRs, derivative assets and liabilities, and equity securities. Several of our accounting policies are critical because they require management to make difficult, subjective and complex judgments about matters that are inherently uncertain and because it is likely that materially different amounts would be reported under different conditions or using different assumptions. If the assumptions or estimates underlying our financial results are incorrect or different from actual results, we could experience unexpected losses or other adverse impacts, some of which could be significant. For a description of our critical accounting policies, see the “Critical Accounting Policies” section in this Report.The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (Sarbanes-Oxley) requires our management to evaluate the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures and its internal control over financial reporting and requires our auditors to issue a report on our internal control over financial reporting. We are required to disclose, in our annual report on Form 10-K, the existence of any “material weaknesses” in our internal controls. We cannot assure that we will not identify one or more material weaknesses as of the end of any given quarter or year, nor can we predict the effect on our reputation or stock price of disclosure of a material weakness. We could also be required to devote significant resources to remediate any material weakness. In addition, our customers may rely on the effectiveness of certain of our operational and internal controls as a service provider, and any deficiency in those controls could affect our customers and damage our reputation or business. Sarbanes-Oxley also limits the types of non-audit services our outside auditors may provide to us in order to preserve their independence from us. If our auditors were found not to be independent of us, we could be required to engage new auditors and re-file financial statements and audit reports with the SEC. We could be out of compliance with SEC rules until new financial statements and audit reports were filed, limiting our ability to raise capital and resulting in other adverse consequences. * * * Any factor described in this Report or in any of our other SEC filings could by itself, or together with other factors, adversely affect our financial results and condition. Refer to our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC in 2023 for material changes to the above discussion of risk factors. There are factors not discussed above or elsewhere in this Report that could adversely affect our financial results and condition. and retain highly qualified employees, we must provide competitive compensation, benefits and work arrangements, effectively manage employee performance and development, and foster a diverse and inclusive environment. As a large financial institution and additionally to the extent we remain subject to consent orders we may be subject to limitations on compensation by our regulators that may adversely affect our ability to attract and retain these qualified employees, especially if some of our competitors may not be subject to these same compensation limitations. If we are unable to continue to attract and retain qualified employees, including successors for senior leadership positions, our business performance, competitive position and future prospects may be adversely affected.FINANCIAL REPORTING RISKS Changes in accounting standards, and changes in how accounting standards are interpreted or applied, could materially affect our financial results and condition. From time to time the FASB and the SEC update the financial accounting and reporting standards that govern the preparation of our external financial statements. In addition, accounting standard setters and those who interpret the accounting standards (such as the FASB, SEC, and banking regulators) may update their previous interpretations or positions on how these standards should be applied. Changes in financial accounting and reporting standards and changes in current interpretations may be beyond our control, can be hard to predict, and could materially affect our financial results and condition, including requiring a retrospective restatement of prior period financial statements. Similarly, any change in our accounting policies could also materially affect our financial statements. For additional information, see the “Current Accounting Developments” section in this Report.Our financial statements require certain assumptions and estimates and rely on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Pursuant to U.S. GAAP, we are required to use certain assumptions and estimates in preparing our financial statements, including, among other items, in determining the allowance for credit losses, the liability for contingent litigation losses, and the fair value of certain assets and liabilities such as debt securities, loans held for sale, MSRs, derivative assets and liabilities, and equity securities. Several of our accounting policies are critical because they require management to make difficult, subjective and complex judgments about matters that are inherently uncertain and because it is likely that materially different amounts would be reported under different conditions or using different assumptions. If the assumptions or estimates underlying our financial results are incorrect or different from actual results, we could experience unexpected losses or other adverse impacts, some of which could be significant. For a description of our critical accounting policies, see the “Critical Accounting Policies” section in this Report. and retain highly qualified employees, we must provide competitive compensation, benefits and work arrangements, effectively manage employee performance and development, and foster a diverse and inclusive environment. As a large financial institution and additionally to the extent we remain subject to consent orders we may be subject to limitations on compensation by our regulators that may adversely affect our ability to attract and retain these qualified employees, especially if some of our competitors may not be subject to these same compensation limitations. If we are unable to continue to attract and retain qualified employees, including successors for senior leadership positions, our business performance, competitive position and future prospects may be adversely affected."
    }
  ],
  "full_url": "https://riskdiff.com/wfc/2024-vs-2023/full/"
}