Wells Fargo’s Support of Military Members, Veterans Surpasses $100 Million

SAN FRANCISCO, November 9, 2017 /3BL Media/ - In honor of Veterans Day Nov. 11, Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) announced that it has donated more than $100 million since 2012 to support military service members, veterans and their families through financial education, career transition and housing initiatives.

Wells Fargo also announced new enhancements to its Hands on Banking^® for Military money management curriculum to address the Department of Defense’s new Blended Retirement System that goes into effect in 2018. The new military retirement system combines the traditional legacy retirement pension with a defined contribution to service members’ Thrift Savings Plan account. Previously, approximately 81 percent of service members left military service without retirement benefits. According to the Department of Defense, the modernized retirement system will provide retirement benefits for nearly 85 percent of service members.

“Wells Fargo is proud to support the needs of service members and veterans in many ways. From providing important financial education programs to donating to military and veteran-related initiatives to hiring thousands of veterans, we care deeply about these brave men and women who are serving and have served our country,” said Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan. “Our company has a long history of supporting the military from transporting troops in the mid-1800s to hiring specially trained phone bankers to work with service members beginning in 2013.”

Since establishing the Military Affairs Program in 2012, Wells Fargo has:

• Donated more than 350 homes, valued at more than $55 million, to veterans in all 50 states. This year, Wells Fargo is presenting mortgage-free homes and payment-free vehicles to veterans during eight of the 16 Veterans Day Parades Wells Fargo is participating in across the country
• Hired more than 7,000 veterans, and participated in more than 950 military job fairs.
• Launched Hands on Banking for Military, an online financial education program that has been viewed by more than 380,000 since July 2013.
• Donated more than $47 million to military- and veteran-related nonprofits.

Wells Fargo has helped military members and veterans succeed financially for more than 164 years. Highlights in 2017 include:

Career transition
In May, Wells Fargo launched the company’s ApprenticeshipUSA program for veterans. The program offers companies the tools they need to develop a highly skilled workforce and provides veterans the opportunity to earn a salary while learning additional skills to succeed in high-demand civilian careers. In addition, Wells Fargo offers veteran career transition initiatives, including the Veteran Employment Transition Internship Program, American Corporate Partners  mentorships, and scholarships and emergency grants through Scholarship America.

Housing
Wells Fargo provides financing options, dedicated service and financial education to help military members and veterans achieve homeownership. On Nov. 6–8, military families were invited to attend free webinars on home financing, budgeting and saving, or credit. The Wells Fargo Housing Foundation supports sustainable housing for veterans with programs including VeteranWINS, which granted $200,000 across six nonprofits in 2017, and $300,000 to improve 100 veterans’ homes with Habitat for Humanity. In collaboration with the Military Warriors Support Foundation, Wells Fargo donates homes and vehicles that are awarded payment-free to combat-wounded veterans.

Financial education
Wells Fargo collaborated with the nonprofit Guideposts to provide 650,000 copies of “Financial Readiness: Sound Principles for Successful Money Management” to military service members since 2014. The second edition, “Building Wealth: Time to Plan for Your Future,” will include a section devoted to the new Blended Retirement System and begins shipping to bases in late 2017. Both publications leverage resources from the Hands on Banking for Military program.

More information about Wells Fargo’s commitment to military service members, veterans and their families is available at www.wellsfargo.com/veterans

About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.9 trillion in assets. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 8,400 locations, 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 42 countries and territories to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 268,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 25 on Fortune’s 2017 rankings of America’s largest corporations. The Chronicle of Philanthropy ranked Wells Fargo No. 3 on its most recent list of the top corporate cash philanthropists. In 2016, Wells Fargo donated $281.3 million to 14,900 nonprofits and Wells Fargo team members volunteered 1.73 million hours with 50,000 nonprofits. Wells Fargo’s corporate social responsibility efforts are focused on three priorities: economic empowerment in underserved communities, environmental sustainability, and advancing diversity and social inclusion. News, insights and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories.

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