CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wells
Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) announced today that Wells Fargo
Bank, N.A. has entered into an agreement with Principal
Financial Group® (Nasdaq: PFG) to sell its Institutional Retirement
& Trust (IRT) business, which includes its retirement plan recordkeeping
and administrative services (401(k) and pension plans), executive
deferred compensation (non-qualified plans), institutional trust and
custody and institutional asset advisory businesses. The transaction,
which is expected to close early in the third quarter of 2019, subject
to receipt of required regulatory approval, will create one of the
largest retirement providers in the industry.
“The Institutional Retirement and Trust business is well-managed, award
winning and highly respected in the market,” said Jon Weiss, head of
Wells Fargo Wealth & Investment Management. “The scale derived from a
combination of IRT and the Principal Financial Group will benefit
clients, plan participants, and team members. At the same time this sale
reflects Wells Fargo’s strategy to focus our resources on areas where we
can grow and maximize opportunities within wealth, brokerage and asset
management.”
IRT is a national leader in providing total retirement management,
executive deferred compensation, investments, and trust and custody
solutions tailored to meet the needs of institutional clients. As of
Dec. 31, 2018, the division had $827 billion in assets under
administration and served 3.9 million 401(k) participants and pensioners.
Principal Financial Group® serves more than 24 million
customers with retirement, asset management and insurance solutions to
help them build and protect their financial well-being. Founded 140
years ago, Principal is headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, with 16,000
employees located around the world.
“A combination with the Principal team creates one of the largest
retirement providers in the industry. The size, scale and breadth of
capabilities delivered by a company dedicated to retirement savings and
investing will be a great benefit to our clients and team members,” said
Joe Ready, head of IRT. “As our leadership team has learned more about
Principal, we see great commonalities between our two cultures,
including our shared focus on service excellence and driving plan and
participant outcomes. We look forward to the realization of our combined
capabilities.”
Wells Fargo Securities, the investment banking arm of Wells Fargo,
served as exclusive financial advisor to Wells Fargo in connection with
the transaction. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP served as
Wells Fargo’s legal advisor in connection with the transaction.
Financial details related to the transaction, including the sale’s
expected gain to Wells Fargo, will be disclosed when the transaction is
completed. Completion of the transaction is subject to regulatory
approvals and is anticipated to close in the third quarter.
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 7,800
locations, more than 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and
mobile banking, and has offices in 37 countries and territories to
support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With
approximately 259,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three
households in the United States. Wells Fargo was ranked No. 26 on
Fortune’s 2018 rankings of America’s largest corporations. News,
insights and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells
Fargo Stories.
About Principal Financial Group
Principal helps people and companies around the world build, protect and
advance their financial well-being through retirement, insurance and
asset management solutions that fit their lives. Our employees are
passionate about helping clients of all income and portfolio sizes
achieve their goals – offering innovative ideas, investment expertise
and real-life solutions to make financial progress possible. To find out
more, visit us at principal.com.
Principal, Principal and symbol design and Principal Financial Group are
trademarks and service marks of Principal Financial Services, Inc., a
member of the Principal Financial Group.
Cautionary Statement about Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements about our future
financial performance and business. Because forward-looking statements
are based on our current expectations and assumptions regarding the
future, they are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. Do not
unduly rely on forward-looking statements as actual results could differ
materially from expectations. Forward-looking statements speak only as
of the date made, and we do not undertake to update them to reflect
changes or events that occur after that date. For information about
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our
expectations, refer to our reports filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, including the “Forward-Looking Statements”
discussion in Wells Fargo’s most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q as
well as to Wells Fargo’s other reports filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, including the discussion under “Risk Factors” in
our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018,
available on its website at www.sec.gov.