LONDON – Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) announced today that Sarah Stafford has been named head of Commercial Real Estate Ireland effective today.

In this newly created role, Stafford will be responsible for Wells Fargo’s local client base as well as the day-to-day operations and strategic direction of the Irish business. She will be based in Dublin, Ireland, and will report to Max Sinclair, head of the U.K. division of Wells Fargo’s Commercial Real Estate group, and Fiona Gallagher, chief executive officer for Wells Fargo Bank International Unlimited Company.

Prior to today’s appointment, Stafford was a director of Wells Fargo’s Commercial Real Estate U.K. and Ireland business. 

“We are delighted with the growth in our business in Ireland over the past few years,” said Sinclair. “We have a high-quality base of clients, many of which are active in other markets where we operate. The continuing buoyancy of the Irish economy has meant that we continue to see good opportunities to selectively increase our Irish loan portfolio. Sarah is a respected specialist, and her promotion demonstrates Wells Fargo’s commitment to the Irish market by serving our customers and engaging with local market participants.” 

Stafford has more than 15 years of international experience and knowledge of the market structures and lending practices. She joined Wells Fargo as a relationship manager from the predecessor organisation Eurohypo, a platform acquired by Wells Fargo in 2013. Before joining Wells Fargo, Stafford worked on the property finance team at Anglo Irish Bank Corporation PLC in London.

Operating throughout the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Ireland, Wells Fargo Corporate Real Estate delivers a comprehensive platform of financing and banking products for experienced commercial real estate companies including balance sheet lending, Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities origination and distribution, loan servicing, agency financing for multifamily properties and debt and equity capital for affordable housing.

Wells Fargo’s Corporate Real Estate business in Ireland is part of Wells Fargo Bank International Unlimited Company (WFBI), which is an indirect subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company. WFBI is an Irish incorporated bank that provides services to clients predominantly across the European Union and the European Area countries. WFBI is the only Wells Fargo bank entity outside of the U.S. and is a critical part of Wells Fargo’s European and international operations.

With more than 1,500 team members in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region (EMEA), Wells Fargo is focused on enabling global businesses. Taking a disciplined and considered approach, Wells Fargo aims to deepen its stakeholder relationships by serving its customers — such as U.S. and global corporates, financial institutions and institutional investors — within a strategic and regulatory compliant framework. The company’s five core businesses in EMEA include Corporate and Investment Banking, Commercial Capital, CRE, Middle Market Banking and Asset Management.

Wells Fargo’s International Group operates from 31 countries outside the U.S., from locations including the Cayman Islands, Dublin, Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC), Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Paris, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo and Toronto.

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, investment and mortgage products and services, as well as consumer and commercial finance, through 7,600 locations, more than 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 32 countries and territories to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 263,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 29 on Fortune’s 2019 rankings of America’s largest corporations. News, insights and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories.