Wells Fargo Looks Forward to 10% or Better Growth

Bear Stearns is reiterating an Outperform rating on Wells Fargo (WFC) after meetings with management that emphasized the bank’s ability to continue producing 10% or better growth in revenue and earnings for 2007 and beyond.

Despite headwinds such as the flat yield curve, and the housing slowdown, CEO Dick Kovacevich and COO John Stumpf, agree that there is no reason to change the firm’s vision of 10% or better growth, especially with expected better growth in the payments business, business banking, and wealth management. Wells Fargo has bought insurance against losses in most of its $50 billion mortgage portfolio and has tightened underwriting standards in certain geographies. As usual, Wells Fargo will focus on its retail distribution, cross-sell opportunities, and improving the customer experience in its 82 different businesses, which creates great earnings diversity.