Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

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Scott Siefers : Thank you for taking the question. I think maybe a question along the same lines there. So, the tone around the regulatory issue certainly sounds better than like 90 days ago and that reasonably possible losses seems to have a better quantitative thinking as well. But what — maybe, Charlie, what are the major touch points sort of on your plate right now? I know all roads ultimately lead to lifting of the asset cap, but maybe would be curious to hear your thoughts on just sort of the biggest things left in your mind.

Charles Scharf: Yes. Well, let me just — so, listen, we still have a series of consent orders, of which, and I always point this out, the asset cap is a piece of one of them. So, all roads don’t lead to the asset cap. The roads in this respect lead to us building the proper control environment, which will satisfy ultimately all the consent orders. And I’ve tried to be clear that we are making progress on that work. It is a lot to do. And our tone hasn’t changed relative to the confidence in the progress that we’re making there. So, we’re going to continue doing it. And hopefully, it’s done to the satisfaction of the regulators, but they’ll have to decide that. And as we continue to tick off the to-dos on that work, the control environment gets better and better. And we become a better run company that doesn’t have those kinds of operating losses that you’ve both seen in the past.

Scott Siefers : Okay. All right. Perfect. And then, Mike, when you talk about resuming share repurchases in the first quarter, maybe you can give us sort of a sense for sort of magnitude and maybe just an even higher level, sort of how you get comfortable repurchasing in the face of what same sort of still uncertain rules out there.

Mike Santomassimo : Well, I would start with where our CET1 ratio is at the end of the year at 10.6%. So, we’re well above our current regulatory minimum and the buffers that are included there. So, we have plenty of flexibility regardless of any outcome that comes out of the new rules that will be proposed. And keep in mind, that will take some time to come out and get implemented and phase in. And so, there’s — it’s not going to happen in a day. And I think we’ll go back to what we’ve been saying the last number of quarters as we think about the buffer that we’ll put on the reg minimum, buffers of 9.2%, we’ll be managing somewhere in the 100, plus or minus, a little basis point range. And depending on what happens with loan growth and RWA growth that we see in the quarter, that will help guide the share repurchases.

Operator: The next question comes from John McDonald of Autonomous Research. Your line is open.

John McDonald : Hey, Mike, I wanted to clarify your answer to Ken, about the first quarter NII. I think you said you do not expect a big step down in the first quarter. Maybe you could just frame first quarter NII a little bit for us relative to the 13.4. What are some of the headwinds, tailwinds? And what might you expect at this point?

Mike Santomassimo : Yes. Thanks, John. Well, first, you have to normalize for a couple less days in the quarter. So, that’s going to be a step down of, call it, 150 million to 200 million step down just there from the flex days. And then as you look at — it should be relatively stable to the fourth quarter, but there could be some — little bit of wiggle room in there.

John McDonald : Stable minus including the day count or

Mike Santomassimo : You got to take the day count — adjust for the day count.

John McDonald : And then stable.

Charles Scharf: You have to — reducing for the day count. Yes.

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