Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) rendered a $75 million 3-year committed funding facility to Marlin Receivables Corp., an affiliate of Marlin Business Services Corp. (MRLN). Marlin Receivables intends to use the facility fund its growth, with an aim to extend increased flexible equipment financing options to numerous small and medium-sized businesses nationwide.  Marlin Business and Wells Fargo have had similar commitments in the past as well. The continued relation will benefit Marlin as it will bolster its financing base, thereby readily meeting the needs of many small businesses. Wells Fargo is the fourth largest financial services company in the U.S. (in terms of assets) with $1.3 trillion in assets and over $800 million in deposits.  The company provides retail and wholesale banking, mortgage banking, consumer finance, equipment leasing, insurance brokerage, agricultural finance, securities brokerage, trust, investment banking and other financial services through banking stores, the Internet ...

Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) was accused of steering blacks and Latinos into high-cost sub-prime loans through illegal sales practices by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan in a suit filed on Friday.

The lawsuit resulted from an investigation into possible violations of fair-lending and consumer-fraud laws. By resorting to discriminatory and illegal mortgage lending practices, the company allegedly misled borrowers in the state about loan-mortgage terms, misrepresented the benefits of refinancing, repeatedly refinanced loans and used deceptive mailing and marketing tools to bewilder borrowers. On the other hand, white borrowers with similar incomes received lower-cost loans with more favorable terms from Wells Fargo.

The class-action suit asked the court to rescind all unfair contracts and grant full restitution to affected consumers. It also asked the court to impose civil penalties for violations.

Wells Fargo is the fourth-largest (in terms of assets) financial services company in the U.S. with

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On July 6, 2009, Wells Fargo & Company's (WFC) announced its plans to expand its securities business. The company intends to put in incremental investment in the securities business that it primarily inherited when it acquired Wachovia at the end of 2008 for $12.5 billion.The business, to be named Wells Fargo Securities, will offer a wide range of services like merger advice, stock and bond underwriting, loan syndications and fixed-income trading. With the expansion, the company will bring competition to its rivals such as JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Citigroup (C).We believe that the expansion will positively impact the profitability of the company and is well-timed, especially when we see some signs of rebound in the U.S. markets. This also comes as a bold move on the part of WFC when the financial services industry is not ...

Is this the beginning of an even larger bull rally or is this the end of a bear rally? Or could this be the start of a long sideways move, creating a lengthy period of 'wait and see,' until a clear catalyst can get the market moving convincingly in one direction or another? I'm sure these questions are asked by millions of people everyday. And while it would be great to know what THE answer is, it may not be all that necessary to make money in the market, especially if you're an options investor. Know Your Options While it's important to plan for the inevitable market rebound (the market won't go down or sideways forever), not all stocks are created equal. Regardless of the overall market direction, ...