ADDING MULTIMEDIA Wells Fargo to Donate $1 Billion to Address Housing Affordability Crisis

New philanthropic strategy to benefit underserved communities through
housing, financial health and small business programs; $20 million
challenge grant aims to accelerate solutions for U.S. housing needs

Industry veteran Brandee McHale joins Company to lead philanthropy

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Wells Fargo today announced an evolution
of its philanthropic strategy to help address three critical issues
affecting underserved communities: housing affordability, financial
health and small business growth.

The Company, through its business and the Wells
Fargo Foundation, will use its resources and expertise to develop
new ideas and implement solutions in communities of need in
collaboration with public- and private-sector organizations. In
particular, Wells Fargo will commit $1 billion in philanthropy
alone through 2025 to address the U.S. housing affordability crisis,
including homelessness, available and affordable rentals, transitional
housing and home ownership.

“Wells Fargo is focused on creating a path to stability and financial
success for individuals and families that lack access to affordable
housing, tools to manage financial health and capital for small business
growth,” said Allen Parker, interim CEO and president of Wells Fargo.
“Together, we can help spark systemic change and economic development
for underserved communities. When people start businesses, build wealth
and are able to afford homes in their neighborhood, communities thrive.”

Last year, Wells Fargo donated a total of $444
million to more than 11,000 nonprofits to help address economic and
social needs in underserved communities. Beginning in 2019, Wells Fargo
is targeting 2% of its after-tax profits for corporate philanthropy,
concentrating on housing affordability, small business growth and
financial health. The Company also will allocate funding for particular
community needs at the local level, such as education, disaster relief
and the arts.

To oversee this work, Wells Fargo also announced today that financial
services industry veteran Brandee
McHale will join the Company to head the Wells Fargo Foundation,
effective Aug. 1, 2019. McHale brings more than 30 years of experience
in public and private philanthropy to Wells Fargo, most recently as head
of Corporate Citizenship at Citigroup Inc. and president of the Citi
Foundation. McHale also previously worked at the Ford Foundation,
developing a portfolio of investments designed to help low-income
households achieve financial success. She will be based in New York City
and report to Jim Rowe, head of Stakeholder Relations at Wells Fargo.

In her role, McHale will succeed Jon Campbell, current head of corporate
philanthropy and community relations, who previously announced his
retirement from Wells Fargo as of Dec. 31, 2019, after a distinguished
42-year career serving the Company in a variety of roles.

Housing affordability

The Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University states that
nearly one-third
of U.S. households spend more than 30% of their income on housing,
and 18 million commit more than 50% for a safe place to live. According
to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, no state or metro in the
U.S. has enough affordable rental inventory to meet the existing demand
for its lowest-income residents. In addition, Urban Institute reports
that 54 million residents of rural communities are living in areas with
a “most severe” or “moderately severe” need for more affordable housing,
as defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

To address challenges in construction, financing and support services
for low- and moderate-income families, the elderly and the homeless,
Wells Fargo is also launching a $20 million Housing Affordability
Challenge. The challenge grant is aimed at uncovering new, more
rapid ways to increase the availability and sustainability of affordable
housing.

“America’s housing affordability crisis isn’t restricted to cities on
the East and West Coasts,” said Jon
Campbell, head of Corporate Philanthropy and Community Relations at
Wells Fargo. “Families everywhere are sacrificing necessities like food,
healthcare and education in order to afford a place to live. Wells Fargo
will bring local and national nonprofits and policy leaders together to
better understand and address the full spectrum of housing affordability
— from homelessness to rental housing to homeownership — and unlock more
housing options for those in need.”

Since 2012, Wells Fargo has provided more charitable grants for
homebuyers than any other bank in the U.S. through its philanthropic NeighborhoodLIFT^®
and other LIFT programs in collaboration with NeighborWorks^®
America. More than 21,000 homeowners, the majority from low- and
moderate-income households, have been created through over $460 million
in down-payment assistance grants.

Wells Fargo has also helped more than 170,000 African
American and Hispanic
individuals purchase homes through 10-year lending commitments to these
diverse communities.

“The state of affordable housing is at a crisis point,” said Jonathan
Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity. “Markets all over the country
that used to be affordable are seeing housing prices soar. Some people
who may not have experienced housing struggles before are getting a
glimpse into the impact that an unaffordable home can have on a family’s
health, educational opportunities and financial stability. We are
working diligently with Wells Fargo and our other committed partners to
find solutions and create policies that will help millions of people
meet their most basic needs.”

Financial health

The Federal Reserve Board reports that nearly
40% of adults would have to resort to techniques such as borrowing
money or selling something to cover an unexpected expense of $400. Wells
Fargo will help expand access to financial education, financial
coaching, homebuyer counseling and other programs or products that
improve healthy financial habits and increase overall financial success.

This work complements existing efforts by the Company to help consumers
— in particular, unbanked and underbanked individuals and families who
are living outside the financial mainstream — succeed financially. In
2018, Wells Fargo team members volunteered more than 47,000 hours
in support of the financial health and well-being of individuals and
families, especially in underserved communities. Wells Fargo is
collaborating with the Bank On movement to support local coalitions in
delivering greater access to safe, affordable banking products and
financial education. In addition, Wells Fargo offers Hands On Banking/El
futuro en tus manos^® — a free, non-commercial financial
education program in English and Spanish — to teach people about
responsible money management, including through specific modules
designed for youth, adults, veterans, seniors and entrepreneurs.

Small business growth

Small businesses are growing, with 52% saying revenues increased over
the past year, according to the Wells
Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index. In particular, however, diverse
entrepreneurs need consistent access to capital and training to stay in
the neighborhoods they love and bring well-paying jobs to the community.
Wells Fargo will intensify efforts to develop and enhance technical
assistance — such as business plan development, budgeting and marketing
— alongside initiatives that will deliver more stability to startups and
existing small businesses.

Wells Fargo already has committed $175 million through its Wells
Fargo Works for Small Business^®: Diverse Community
Capital program with funding to Community Development Financial
Institutions to empower diverse entrepreneurs through innovative loan
products and technical training. The program, conducted in collaboration
with Opportunity Finance Network, has so far helped create more than 46,000
local jobs through assistance to minority-, women- and veteran-owned
businesses in 36 states; Washington, D.C.; and Puerto Rico.

For an overview of Wells Fargo’s philanthropic strategy and look at
local community impact, visit www.wellsfargo.com/impact.

About Wells Fargo

Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo &
Company (NYSE:WFC) provides banking, investment and mortgage products
and services, as well as consumer and commercial finance, through 7,700
locations, more than 13,000 ATMs, and the internet (wellsfargo.com).
With approximately 262,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three
households in the United States. With its corporate philanthropy, Wells
Fargo aims to pave a path to stability and financial success for
underserved communities by applying a problem-solving mindset to housing
affordability, small business growth, and financial health, among other
local community needs. In 2018, Wells Fargo donated $444 million to
nearly 11,000 nonprofits. For 10 consecutive years, Wells Fargo has held
the honor of No. 1 in workplace giving by United Way Worldwide. Wells
Fargo team members also actively support communities by donating more
than 2 million hours of volunteer time in the last year. News, insights
and more information on the company’s overall corporate responsibility
are available at Wells
Fargo Stories and www.wellsfargo.com/impact.

Contacts

Media
Kim Erlichson, 201-463-4243
kim.erlichson@wellsfargo.com

Jennifer Dunn, 202-320-8532
Jennifer.G.Dunn@wellsfargo.com