Public Meeting Regarding Norwest Corporation and Wells Fargo & Company
Thursday, September 17, 1998
Transcript of Panel Four
83
1 (Recess taken.)
2
3 CHAIRPERSON SMITH: We have both the 11:01:32
4 witness panel and the Federal Reserve panel, so I 11:01:32
5 think we'll go ahead and start, and our first 11:01:36
6 speaker is Mr. Gnaizda. 11:01:38
7
8 MR. GNAIZDA: Good morning. I'm the 11:01:42
9 policy director with the Greenlining Institute. To 11:01:44
10 put background on the Greenlining Institute, in the 11:01:46
11 last year we have been involved in opposing six 11:01:50
12 major mergers, including the City Corp merger, which 11:01:52
13 we believe is illegal, and the Bank of 11:01:58
14 America/Nations Bank merger, and opposition to State 11:02:00
15 Farm becoming a thrift institution. 11:02:06
16 Historically Greenlining is also opposed to 11:02:06
17 many Wells Fargo mergers, including one as early as 11:02:10
18 1971, before there was a CRA, and we were 11:02:14
19 successful, and we opposed a Wells Fargo merger in 11:02:16
20 1989 as well. 11:02:22
21 I'd like to offer five preliminary observations 11:02:24
22 that will put our remarks in context. First, we 11:02:26
23 strongly support hearings by the Federal Reserve. 11:02:32
24 We believe, however, there should be many more 11:02:34
25 hearings, and we believe that the Federal Reserve 11:02:38
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1 should change its policy and permit community groups 11:02:40
2 to cross examine banks when there are mergers, and 11:02:44
3 to secure information in advance. This will help 11:02:46
4 your task as well. 11:02:52
5 Secondly, this merger that's before you 11:02:52
6 probably would not have occurred were it not for 11:02:56
7 Federal Reserve policies that we consider quite 11:02:58
8 reckless; that is, the green light to the City 11:03:02
9 Corp/Travelers merger and the B of A/Nations Bank 11:03:06
10 merger. You have forced other banks into an unfair 11:03:10
11 competitive position into which they, too, must 11:03:14
12 merge. 11:03:18
13 Third, we oppose the trend of high risk 11:03:20
14 investments in foreign nations at the cost of 11:03:24
15 investing in the inner city. Our motto is invest in 11:03:26
16 Minnesota, not Moscow, invest in Los Angeles, not 11:03:30
17 Leningrad. And we're pleased to observe that 11:03:34
18 neither Wells Fargo nor Norwest has invested in 11:03:38
19 Russia, unlike some of their competitors such as 11:03:40
20 City Corp, Chase Manhattan, and Bank of America. 11:03:44
21 Fourth, we believe when you have a mega-merger, 11:03:48
22 there have to be unique circumstances to permit the 11:03:54
23 merger. There must be a very strong CRA commitment, 11:03:56
24 as we believe you have here with Wells Fargo. This 11:04:00
25 is especially important because the Federal Reserve 11:04:04
85
1 and the office of the controller of the currency 11:04:08
2 have engaged in an epidemic of great inflation where 11:04:10
3 every bank that's large gets an outstanding. So 11:04:14
4 when a bank is outstanding, such as Wells Fargo, it 11:04:18
5 cannot be distinguished from any of its competitors 11:04:20
6 that are not outstanding but receive the same grade. 11:04:26
7 The last preliminary point, Wells has made 11:04:28
8 pledges in '90, '93 and '95 to the community. In 11:04:32
9 each case it has met its pledge, in each case it has 11:04:36
10 exceeded its pledge, and it has exceeded it in less 11:04:40
11 than half the time in many cases. 11:04:44
12 These are the brief facts I want to wish -- I 11:04:46
13 wish to provide to you. They are provided in our 11:04:48
14 August 27th letter to Chairman Greenspan, and we 11:04:52
15 have provided you with a copy. I make these eight 11:04:56
16 points to contrast this merger from our point of 11:05:00
17 view from some of the other mergers that you have 11:05:04
18 routinely approved, such as the Nations Bank/B of A 11:05:06
19 one. 11:05:10
20 One, unlike Nations Bank's hollow pledge, this 11:05:10
21 is an enforceable pledge by Wells Fargo. The key 11:05:16
22 community groups involved in developing the pledge 11:05:18
23 will meet with the CEO on a semi-annual basis and 11:05:20
24 will be given all necessary data in advance, as we 11:05:24
25 have been for many years. 11:05:26
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1 Two, unlike Nations Bank, this pledge is 11:05:28
2 geographically specific to California. We know 11:05:34
3 exactly what it is. 11:05:36
4 Third, unlike Nations Bank, this pledge had 11:05:38
5 very substantial and widespread community input 11:05:40
6 before being finalized. 240 groups were represented 11:05:46
7 in developing the pledge. 11:05:50
8 Four, unlike Nations Bank, this pledge is 11:05:50
9 specific as to assisting the most underserved; for 11:05:56
10 example, specific minority and low income goals for 11:05:58
11 business and home lending. You will learn more 11:06:02
12 about it from other panelists. 11:06:04
13 Five, unlike Nations Bank, the philanthropic 11:06:06
14 investment commitments of Wells Fargo are toward the 11:06:10
15 underserved and represent a substantial percent of 11:06:14
16 pre-tax income. Wells' motto is to the barrio, not 11:06:18
17 the ballet, and we hope that will be the standard 11:06:22
18 for all banks. 11:06:26
19 Unlike Nations Banks, CRA-related commitments 11:06:30
20 have been made for women and minority contracts for 11:06:34
21 small inner city businesses. And unlike Nations 11:06:38
22 Bank, Wells Fargo has committed itself to an 11:06:42
23 important principle Chairman Greenspan has spoken so 11:06:46
24 eloquently on in his Wall Street address in January 11:06:50
25 of '98. It is committed to diversity, and 11:06:54
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1 specifically so. 11:06:58
2 Unlike Nations Bank, Wells has had a policy of 11:07:00
3 not investing abroad, instead investing in the inner 11:07:04
4 city, contrast that with B of A's 600 million at 11:07:08
5 risk in Russia. 11:07:12
6 And, lastly, unlike Nations Bank, Wells has had 11:07:14
7 a long history of securing community input and 11:07:18
8 meeting long-term CRA commitments. 11:07:20
9 There's one other point that is not so tangible 11:07:24
10 but is perhaps more important, and that's the 11:07:30
11 leadership. We in California have been able to 11:07:32
12 count on Paul Hazen, Karen Wegman, and Wells Fargo 11:07:34
13 to be a leader. The Hmong community's going to tell 11:07:38
14 you about one of the greatest experiments in moving 11:07:42
15 70,000 people from welfare to work, something the 11:07:46
16 United States government has been under -- to do. 11:07:48
17 Wells took the leadership and in effect convinced 11:07:52
18 nine other major institutions to join it. 11:07:56
19 And lastly, Wells is a founder of an exciting 11:07:58
20 new partnership that I believe Chairman Greenspan 11:08:02
21 will be very excited about; we hope to have him 11:08:06
22 address. Twelve major corporations will be joining 11:08:10
23 community groups in developing a diversity business 11:08:14
24 partnership to discuss how investing in the merging 11:08:18
25 markets at home can be highly profitable and produce 11:08:24
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1 safety and soundness everywhere. 11:08:26
2 I thank you very much. We do hope you will 11:08:28
3 closely question us when we are all finished. Thank 11:08:32
4 you. 11:08:36
5
6 CHAIRPERSON SMITH: Thank you. Mr. Dean. 11:08:38
7
8 MR. DEAN: Thank you very much, Governor 11:08:40
9 Smith and the rest of the members of the panel. 11:08:44
10 Good morning. My name is George Dean, and for the 11:08:44
11 past six years I have been president and CEO of the 11:08:46
12 greater Phoenix, Arizona Urban League, a leading 11:08:50
13 provider of human services in the valley of the sun. 11:08:54
14 Prior to relocating to Arizona, for 13 years I was 11:08:56
15 president and CEO of the Sacramento, California 11:08:58
16 Urban League, and president of the California 11:09:02
17 Council of Urban Leagues, which include Urban League 11:09:06
18 affiliates in Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside, San 11:09:10
19 Francisco, Oakland, and, of course, Sacramento. 11:09:12
20 Our mission in the Urban League is to assist 11:09:16
21 African-Americans, other minorities and the 11:09:18
22 disadvantaged in achieving economic and social 11:09:20
23 equality. While serving as president of the Urban 11:09:24
24 League, I have also been a founding member and 11:09:26
25 co-chair of the Greenlining Institute. 11:09:30
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1 Let me begin by saying that the Urban League, 11:09:32
2 as well as the Greenlining Institute, has been 11:09:36
3 generally opposed to mega-mergers, as we believe it 11:09:40
4 decreases the number of institutions that can 11:09:44
5 provide substantial commitments through CRA to our 11:09:46
6 communities. I hasten to add that we have been 11:09:50
7 active in CRA protests for a number of years, 11:09:52
8 including the Wells Fargo and First Interstate Bank 11:09:56
9 merger, as well as Bank One and another bank, and 11:10:00
10 others, as well as the Norwest acquisition of both 11:10:04
11 Citibank and Caliber Bank in Arizona. 11:10:08
12 I am pleased to state that Norwest Bank-Arizona 11:10:10
13 has been an excellent corporate citizen and has 11:10:12
14 performed well in its CRA commitments. Wells 11:10:16
15 Fargo's primary entree into the Arizona market came 11:10:20
16 about with its acquisition of First Interstate, and 11:10:24
17 I am pleased to say that the Wells Fargo people hit 11:10:26
18 the ground running and has been second to none in 11:10:30
19 fulfilling the CRA commitments they made at the time 11:10:34
20 of the acquisition. 11:10:36
21 Wells' position on affirmative action awarded 11:10:38
22 to vendor contracts to minority and females 11:10:42
23 businesses, lending goals, both generally and 11:10:44
24 specifically for minorities and women, and its 11:10:48
25 commitment to focus the majority of their charitable 11:10:50
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1 contributions to underserved communities are all 11:10:54
2 reasons why they are held in such high esteem and 11:10:56
3 why we don't see this particular merger as being a 11:11:00
4 hindrance or a detriment to the progress being made 11:11:04
5 in our communities. 11:11:04
6 In the case of Norwest-Arizona, much of the 11:11:06
7 same can be said. In 1994, shortly after they 11:11:10
8 became the fourth largest bank in Arizona, they 11:11:14
9 established a five-year, $50 million community 11:11:18
10 lending initiative for a community home buyers 11:11:20
11 program. This program was designed specifically to 11:11:24
12 help increase home ownership opportunities for 11:11:26
13 creditworthy families earning 80 percent or less of 11:11:30
14 the areas's median family income, and who did not 11:11:34
15 typically qualify for mortgages under the 11:11:38
16 conventional financing terms, with lower down 11:11:40
17 payment requirements, higher loan-to-value ratio, 11:11:44
18 higher debt-to-income ratios, and a requirement for 11:11:46
19 prepurchase housing counseling. 11:11:50
20 This program has, through July of this year, 11:11:52
21 reached 90 percent of its five-year goals, and of 11:11:54
22 those -- and 70 percent of those loans have been 11:12:00
23 made to people of color. 11:12:02
24 It has been especially meaningful to have 11:12:04
25 direct access to similar management with both banks. 11:12:06
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1 Karen Wegman, the executive vice president with 11:12:10
2 Wells Fargo, and John Campbell, the president and 11:12:14
3 CEO of Norwest-Arizona, can both be accessed 11:12:16
4 directly. And, in addition, there has been 11:12:20
5 semi-annual meetings with Paul Hazen, the chairman 11:12:22
6 and CEO of Wells, since the First Interstate 11:12:26
7 acquisition. 11:12:28
8 Based on the follow-through of the CRA 11:12:30
9 commitments of the two merging institutions in 11:12:32
10 California and Arizona, and the commitments of the 11:12:34
11 new institution once the merger is complete, it is 11:12:38
12 without hesitation that I support the merger of 11:12:40
13 Norwest-Wells Fargo. I am pleased that the proposed 11:12:44
14 new bank has made many commitments to California's 11:12:48
15 low income communities and communities of color, and 11:12:50
16 I look forward to working with the new bank to have 11:12:54
17 similar type commitments in Arizona. Thank you. 11:12:56
18
19 CHAIRPERSON SMITH: Thank you. We'll go 11:13:00
20 to Mr. Correlejo. 11:13:02
21
22 MR. CORRELEJO: Hello. My name is Jorge 11:13:04
23 Correlejo. I'm the owner of Mecunda Leasing 11:13:06
24 Company, and for 15 years I'm on the board of 11:13:08
25 directors, with the Latin Business Association for 11:13:12
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1 14 years, and I've been a strong advocate on behalf 11:13:14
2 of business advocacy with all of the financial 11:13:20
3 institutions over the last several years. I've had 11:13:24
4 the responsibility, along with the individuals up 11:13:26
5 here, of monitoring Wells Fargo and the agreements 11:13:28
6 that they have made, and I do want to state that I'm 11:13:32
7 very proud of the fact that they have committed and 11:13:36
8 kept to their commitments far and above what any 11:13:40
9 other financial institution has achieved to date. 11:13:42
10 What has been their experience in the Latino 11:13:44
11 community? Well, they have recently opened a 11:13:48
12 billion dollar Latino loan line, as they have done 11:13:54
13 with other minority groups as well. They have made 11:13:56
14 commitments in terms of accessibility with the 11:14:02
15 members of the Latino community. I can tell you 11:14:04
16 this: we've met with several institutions about the 11:14:08
17 -- what does it take to make more members of our 11:14:10
18 community bankable? And they seem to be -- have 11:14:14
19 been to date the only ones that have listened. 11:14:18
20 We've spoken about the need for some technical 11:14:22
21 assistance. You can go with any group -- many years 11:14:26
22 ago I used to provide business training technical 11:14:30
23 assistance -- any group you're going to do all right 11:14:34
24 by approaching them and get a -- small numbers that 11:14:36
25 are eligible for loans that can be approved today. 11:14:38
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1 Most institutions aren't interested in any 11:14:42
2 longer term commitments to business people to see 11:14:44
3 about their longer term needs. I think it's a great 11:14:48
4 opportunity certainly, but this is something that 11:14:50
5 we've discussed, and Wells Fargo has been the only 11:14:54
6 one who's had an interest in funding an institute 11:14:56
7 that would provide business training technical 11:15:00
8 assistance to business owners that, one, either have 11:15:02
9 no credit, or have blemishes on their credit, or 11:15:04
10 some other problems that would not enable them to be 11:15:08
11 eligible for a loan. They have taken this step 11:15:10
12 forward and made a long-term commitment to providing 11:15:14
13 business training technical assistance to minority 11:15:18
14 members and are seeing, I think, some good success. 11:15:20
15 I think over the past six months that that 11:15:26
16 program, in particular, has been able to fund to 11:15:30
17 well over $2 million to Wells Fargo, but other banks 11:15:32
18 as well, providing one-on-one technical assistance. 11:15:36
19 I don't recall the exact numbers, but it's up and 11:15:40
20 running since about the beginning of the year. So 11:15:44
21 this is the kind of initiative that Wells Fargo has 11:15:46
22 certainly demonstrated to our community. We're 11:15:50
23 working very closely, they meet regularly with the 11:15:52
24 leaders of the community, and it seems like they 11:15:56
25 have a sincere commitment, and I'm here to offer my 11:15:58
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1 respects to their commitment to date and let you 11:16:02
2 know that certainly in California, Wells Fargo has 11:16:04
3 been achieving its goals. 11:16:08
4
5 CHAIRPERSON SMITH: Thank you very much. 11:16:12
6 Ms. Borromeo. 11:16:12
7
8 MS. BORROMEO: Good morning. My name is 11:16:16
9 Gelly Borromeo. I'm the publisher of Asian 11:16:16
10 Enterprise Magazine, the largest circulated Asian 11:16:18
11 American business focus magazine in the United 11:16:22
12 States. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to 11:16:24
13 testify. 11:16:26
14 I'm here today because I am going to stress and 11:16:28
15 underscore the fact that the specific goal for 11:16:32
16 utilization of minority and women business 11:16:36
17 enterprises by Wells Fargo, 40 percent, I think is 11:16:38
18 very significant. As we all know, small business 11:16:42
19 enterprise is largely responsible for the economic 11:16:44
20 renaissance of the United States, which we have been 11:16:48
21 enjoying in the last five years. A large percentage 11:16:50
22 of small businesses consist of women and 11:16:52
23 minority-owned businesses, yet industries across the 11:16:56
24 United States -- across the United States still 11:16:58
25 utilize and spend very marginally within the 11:17:02
95
1 minority and women business enterprise sector. 11:17:04
2 Of 21 banks surveyed nationwide, which was 11:17:08
3 conducted in December of '97, the average percentage 11:17:12
4 of minority business utilization was 2.9 percent and 11:17:16
5 2.5 percent for women business enterprises, which is 11:17:20
6 lower than the average of all industries across the 11:17:24
7 nation. 11:17:26
8 A total of 485 companies in a cross-industry 11:17:28
9 comparison of standard benchmarks -- a copy of which 11:17:32
10 I will be leaving for the record -- indicates that 11:17:34
11 the average percentage of MBE utilization across the 11:17:38
12 United States was only 3.4 percent for MBEs, and 2.8 11:17:42
13 percent for WBEs. Municipal government's rated 11:17:48
14 highest at 8 percent average for MBEs and 6.3 11:17:52
15 percent for WBEs. So, again, I'd like to underscore 11:17:54
16 the fact that the 40 percent minority and women 11:17:56
17 business enterprise goals that Wells Fargo has 11:17:58
18 committed to our community is very, very 11:18:02
19 significant. 11:18:04
20 Two years ago during the First Interstate Bank 11:18:06
21 and Wells Fargo merger, the combined banks were 11:18:08
22 under five percent of their MBE/WBE utilization; 11:18:12
23 however, today, after two years, they're a little 11:18:16
24 over or slightly over 15 percent. I think that's a 11:18:18
25 significant change, and I think this is really the 11:18:22
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1 spirit of the commitment that they have done. Many 11:18:26
2 would say it's far from the 40 percent, but you must 11:18:26
3 remember the 40 percent was to be achieved over ten 11:18:30
4 years. If they go with the acceleration of what 11:18:32
5 they've done with the utilization of minority and 11:18:34
6 women business enterprises, I think they're going to 11:18:38
7 achieve well beyond the 40 percent they have done. 11:18:40
8 How have we accomplished this in California? 11:18:42
9 Well, first of all, we have not only held them 11:18:44
10 accountable by meeting and dialoguing with -- at 11:18:46
11 least twice other year with Paul Hazen and all of 11:18:50
12 the senior management of Wells Fargo, but I think it 11:18:54
13 truly has to do with the personal engagement and 11:18:56
14 commitment that Paul and Karen Wegman and their 11:18:58
15 staff within Wells Fargo have. 11:19:02
16 We have a developed a personal relationship 11:19:04
17 with them, and we have the personal access to them. 11:19:06
18 As a matter of fact, I think what all of you should 11:19:10
19 do here, trying to do today is talk to them after 11:19:12
20 this or, you know, when you have a chance to, ask 11:19:14
21 them for their telephone numbers, and I'm sure 11:19:16
22 they're going to provide that for you so you can 11:19:20
23 have the same access -- personal access that you 11:19:22
24 have. And I understand that Leslie would also do 11:19:24
25 the same for all of us. Thank you. 11:19:26
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1
2 CHAIRPERSON SMITH: Mr. Bivins. 11:19:28
3
4 MR. BIVINS: Yes, good morning. I want to 11:19:30
5 thank the Board of Governors for this opportunity 11:19:32
6 that they have afforded with this public hearing. 11:19:34
7 My name is George Bivins. I'm the chairman of the 11:19:38
8 Black Business Association in Los Angeles. I'm also 11:19:40
9 a businessman; I'm an insurance agent. I've been in 11:19:44
10 the business 25 years. I advised the State of 11:19:46
11 California on insurance when Juanita 11:19:50
12 Millener-McDonald was the chair of the state 11:19:56
13 assembly. I'm also a board member of the 11:19:58
14 Greenlining Institute. 11:20:00
15 And basically I want to make just a couple 11:20:02
16 observations about this proposed merger because my 11:20:04
17 colleagues have made some finer points, but I'm 11:20:10
18 going to give you some personal observations that I 11:20:14
19 have with regards to Wells Fargo. 11:20:16
20 The Black Business Association supports the 11:20:20
21 merger. Wells has went out of their way to serve 11:20:22
22 our community. Wells has targeted the inner cities 11:20:28
23 with a $2.5 billion mortgage commitment for low 11:20:32
24 income and minority home buyer. Wells-Norwest has 11:20:34
25 committed $1 billion over 12 years specifically for 11:20:40
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1 African-American loan program. 11:20:44
2 Bank of America moved to North Carolina with no 11:20:48
3 regard for California, the state that made it what 11:20:50
4 it was. And most of the base in that merger, most 11:20:54
5 of the income, comes from California, yet still, 11:20:58
6 they moved to North Carolina and they became 11:21:04
7 absentee owners -- absentee landlords. Bank of 11:21:06
8 America has reluctantly announced, due to the global 11:21:14
9 market conditions and the swings, their third 11:21:16
10 quarter, which was just reported yesterday, they 11:21:22
11 lost $33 million in red ink in their third quarter. 11:21:24
12 If the red ink keeps coming each quarter, and it 11:21:30
13 will, can you spell bailout? 11:21:32
14 Wells loans no monies outside of the borders of 11:21:36
15 the United States. $600 million at risk in Russia, 11:21:40
16 $3.1 billion at risk in South Korea. 11:21:42
17 The BBA has had a long, positive relationship 11:21:48
18 with Wells Fargo, and so have many of our members 11:21:52
19 have their accounts at Wells Fargo. 11:21:56
20 The other point I want to make, because I am in 11:21:58
21 the insurance business I do represent the National 11:22:00
22 Equity Fund, which purchases tax credits in the 11:22:04
23 State of California. Wells Fargo is a customer or 11:22:06
24 has relationships with many of these community 11:22:12
25 development agencies, one of which is the Tenderloin 11:22:14
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1 neighborhood agency is one of my newest clients, 11:22:18
2 spoke very highly of Wells Fargo two weeks ago when 11:22:22
3 I was in San Francisco. This is the type of 11:22:26
4 outreach that this organization provides. 11:22:28
5 They do have access -- you do have access to 11:22:30
6 their management, but I would like to say there's 11:22:32
7 been some gracious words. Mr. Hazen is always 11:22:36
8 available, so is Karen Wegman, but her staff under 11:22:40
9 her, Brenda Ross-Dulin some of the staff, Gladys 11:22:42
10 Ross in Los Angeles, is always available, so I urge 11:22:48
11 you, no matter what you've heard, this organization 11:22:52
12 is accessible, and I do recommend the merger. Thank 11:22:56
13 you very much. 11:23:00
14
15 CHAIRPERSON SMITH: Mr. Lee. 11:23:02
16
17 MR. LEE: Thank you for the Federal 11:23:06
18 Reserve by allowing me to take this opportunity to 11:23:10
19 speak. My name is Pheng Lee. I'm the Secretary of 11:23:12
20 the Hmong American Political Organization. I'm here 11:23:18
21 to speak on behalf of our president, Mr. Toulu Thao, 11:23:20
22 who has other prior commitment and cannot be here 11:23:22
23 today. 11:23:26
24 May I tell you a little bit of what Wells Fargo
25 has helped create, something that inspired many 11:23:30
100
1 other leaders to follow, something that no one, no 11:23:32
2 corporation, has done in American history, something 11:23:38
3 that will make major economic impact on the life of 11:23:40
4 many thousands of Hmong residents throughout the 11:23:46
5 United States. 11:23:48
6 In America, the Hmong, who have little or no 11:23:48
7 marketable skill, receive no more than a minimum 11:23:52
8 wage and cannot support a large family. 11:23:54
9 While searching for opportunity, Hmong found 11:23:58
10 Fresno one of the richest agricultural land in 11:24:04
11 California, and began moving there since 1980. For 11:24:04
12 almost 20 years, Hmong in Fresno work very hard and 11:24:08
13 farm almost every vacant lot or land they can find 11:24:12
14 in and around the outskirt of Fresno. Despite their 11:24:16
15 great effort, Hmong have not been able to support 11:24:20
16 themself. 11:24:22
17 By recognizing Hmong's struggle, hardship and 11:24:24
18 their strong desire to become economically 11:24:30
19 independent, Wells Fargo, under the leadership of 11:24:32
20 Karen Wegman, Executive Vice President, and Sharon 11:24:34
21 Gerber, Vice President of Community Development, 11:24:42
22 began looking for way to invest in the Hmong 11:24:44
23 community and to help them become economically 11:24:48
24 self-sufficient. While Wells Fargo was doing that, 11:24:52
25 many other corporate leaders view Hmong as risky 11:24:56
101
1 investment and would have no consideration at all 11:25:00
2 due to many reasons, such as the Hmong community is 11:25:02
3 not well-known to average American and corporation, 11:25:06
4 and we have no credit history, and many do not read 11:25:10
5 and write and speak English, and also they do not 11:25:18
6 have business plan, and a number of reasons. But 11:25:22
7 Karen Wegman, Sharon Gerber, and the leaders of 11:25:26
8 Wells Fargo are not afraid to be involved with the 11:25:30
9 Hmong. They see something beyond ordinary leaders 11:25:34
10 can see; that is, Hmong who once was very loyal to 11:25:38
11 our ally U.S. will once again, when they are ready, 11:25:42
12 be loyal customers. Therefore, investing in the 11:25:46
13 Hmong is not a one-way street, but rather, it will 11:25:52
14 be a two-way street and a great opportunity that 11:25:54
15 will mutually be beneficial.
16 In finding ways to help Hmong, Wells Fargo 11:25:58
17 funded an in-depth study of Hmong community and paid
18 for an agribusiness expert design of the business 11:26:06
19 plan with step-by-step layout to take the Hmong from 11:26:08
20 poverty to economic self-sufficiency. 11:26:14
21 It takes a very special leadership; it takes a 11:26:16
22 strong commitment; it takes a lot of caring; and it 11:26:20
23 takes a lot of courage as a leader, as a corporation 11:26:22
24 to do what Wells have done. 11:26:26
25 The leadership taken by Wells Fargo in the 11:26:30
102
1 Hmong community inspired many other corporations. 11:26:32
2 Soon after Wells Fargo made its first step, nine 11:26:36
3 other corporations follow and give their support to 11:26:38
4 the Hmong project. 11:26:42
5 I proudly testify on behalf of Mr. Toulu Thao 11:26:42
6 and the Hmong American community, who proudly show 11:26:48
7 our full support to Wells Fargo. 11:26:50
8 Special thanks to Karen Wegman, Sharon Gerber, 11:26:52
9 and the other leaders of Wells Fargo who have made 11:26:56
10 this difference in our life. I'd like to thank you. 11:26:58
11
12 CHAIRPERSON SMITH: Thank you. Mr. Thao. 11:27:04
13
14 MR. THAO: Thank you. My name is Cheng 11:27:06
15 Thao. I am a cooperative marketing assistant of 11:27:10
16 Hmong American community of Fresno, California. I 11:27:12
17 am so happy to be here, part of Hmong farmer in 11:27:16
18 Fresno.
19 I would like you to know that because of Wells 11:27:20
20 Fargo, we were able to start a Hmong Farmers 11:27:26
21 Cooperative. Wells Fargo helped us plant the seeds 11:27:28
22 to help hundred of Hmong farmer and their family 11:27:32
23 achieve their dream as Americans. Because of Wells 11:27:38
24 Fargo, we will be able to some day buy our own cold 11:27:40
25 storage/packing house to help Hmong farmers in the 11:27:44
103
1 Central Valley. Wells Fargo has made a tremendous 11:27:48
2 impact on the life of the Hmong, and they help give 11:27:50
3 back to the communities and invest in not only money 11:27:56
4 but care and love to the Hmong people of Fresno. 11:28:00
5 As a Hmong farmer, I know how much of a 11:28:02
6 difference Wells Fargo has make in my life and their 11:28:06
7 life. I visit every day. They thank me for helping 11:28:10
8 them, but I want you to know that Wells Fargo 11:28:18
9 helping and supporting Hmong farmer. 11:28:22
10 I am very proud to say that Hmong farmer and 11:28:26
11 their family, Hmong American Community, Inc., and 11:28:28
12 Toulu Thao are very proud of Wells Fargo to help us 11:28:34
13 understand what it means to be an American. 11:28:38
14 We are honored to come today to support Wells 11:28:40
15 Fargo. Thank you. 11:28:44
16
17 CHAIRPERSON SMITH: Thank you very much. 11:28:48
18 Any questions from the panel? We thank you for 11:28:48
19 coming. You came a long way and we appreciate your 11:28:54
20 being here to present your testimony. 11:28:58
21 With that, we'll go on to the next panel, Panel 11:29:02
22 5. We'll start with Ms. Kalant. 11:30:30