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Wells Fargo Case Study

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The Unethical Treatment of Small Businesses by Wells Fargo Bank
Sagarika Prajapati
Bristol Community College
BNK 101 Project
Abstract
In 1852, Wells, Fargo & Co. was founded by two men named Henry Wells and William Fargo. They originally opened for business in the gold rush port of San Francisco offering two services: banking (purchasing and selling paper bank drafts as good as gold) as well as express (rapid delivery of the gold and anything else valuable). There was a lot of things happening in the world in the 19th century, including the Panic of 1857, a financial panic in the United States caused by the declining international economy and over-expansion of the domestic economy. A violent hurricane had just lashed out in Central America, and there was a vessel at sea carrying a huge shipment of gold from California. The ship full of gold ended up sinking to the bottom of the ocean. Banks had already been struggling due to their investments in businesses failing, and the American people panicked and feared financial ruin. Along with their failed investments, it was impossible for the banks to gather all the gold that their customers demanded. In the boom and bust economy of the 1850s, from the Gold Rush to the early 20th century, through prosperity, depression and war, Wells Fargo earned a reputation of trust due to its attention and loyalty to customers and by dealing rapidly and responsibly with people’s money. However, in recent years, there has been an

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