Wells Fargo raises US employees’ hourly pay

SAN FRANCISCO — Many employers are boosting hourly pay, and Wells Fargo is the latest company to join the ranks. Wells Fargo announced an expansion of its ongoing investments in team members, communities, small businesses and homeownership, pledging the following actions to support economic growth with tax reform:

• Raising the minimum hourly pay rate for its team members to $15 per hour.
  • The company’s increased minimum hourly pay rate of $15 for U.S.-based team members goes into effect in March 2018. The new rate is an 11 percent increase to the current minimum hourly rate of $13.50 that the company announced in January 2017.

• Targeting $400 million in donations to community and nonprofit organizations in 2018. The company also announced that beginning in 2019, it will target 2 percent of its after-tax profits for corporate philanthropy.
  • Wells Fargo already is one of the top corporate cash donors, ranking first among financial institutions and third among all U.S. companies in a 2016 report (most recent ranking) by The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

• As part of this expanded philanthropy, targeting $100 million in capital and other resources over the next three years to support the growth of diverse small businesses through the continuation and expansion of the Wells Fargo Works for Small Business®: Diverse Community Capital (DCC) program.
  • Since 2016, the DCC program has invested more than $55 million for diverse small businesses, including those owned by African Americans, Asians, Hispanics, LGBT individuals, veterans, Native Americans, and women.
• Target $75 million in 2018 to its NeighborhoodLIFT® program, an innovative public-private collaboration focused on sustainable homeownership and neighborhood revitalization.
  • Since February 2012, LIFT programs have helped create nearly 15,500 homeowners in 57 communities across the country, and more than 52,000 individuals have received homebuyer education from NeighborWorks® America members. The majority of LIFT homebuyers are in the low-to-moderate income range.

Wells Fargo President and CEO Tim Sloan. WEBSITE

“We believe tax reform is good for our U.S. economy and are pleased to take these immediate steps to invest in our team members, communities, small businesses, and homeowners,” said President and CEO, Tim Sloan.

“We look forward to identifying additional opportunities for Wells Fargo to invest, as we continue to execute our business strategies and provide long-term value to all our stakeholders. As the nation’s largest small business lender and residential mortgage provider, we understand our significant role in helping grow the economy.”