Wells Fargo & Co. is closing its Canadian outlets and will cease making customer loans, reported the Financial Post this morning.
Wells Fargo & Co. is closing its Canadian outlets and will cease making customer loans, reported the Financial Post this morning.
As one of the largest banks in the U.S., the company started withdrawing consumer lending from Canada in 2008, and last July, stopped offering residential mortgages and home-equity loans in Canada. Wells Fargo, with 130 stores across the country, will continue with its existing real estate, auto and consumer loan accounts.
"There will be no change to our customers' existing account terms and conditions," said Rick Valade, Wells Fargo Financial Corp. Canada president, to the Financial Post. "We still have more than 450 team members based in Canada available to support and service existing customers."
Prior to the financial crisis, Wells Fargo and other U.S. lenders, such as General Electric Co. flourished in Canada. The companies loaned money to consumers and homebuyers, including people who may not have qualified for Canadian bank loans.
