Wells Fargo Stock In Focus After Sale Of Rail Assets, Lifting Of One More Consent Order
Synopsis
The sale includes Wells Fargo's entire portfolio of rail operating lease assets, representing a book value of approximately $4.4 billion.
Wells Fargo (WFC) stock garnered retail attention on Friday after the company agreed to sell its rail equipment leasing business to a newly formed joint venture between GATX Corporation and Brookfield Infrastructure.
The lender stated on Thursday that the sale includes Wells Fargo's entire portfolio of rail operating lease assets, representing a book value of approximately $4.4 billion, as well as its rail finance lease portfolio.
“This transaction is consistent with Wells Fargo’s ongoing strategy of simplifying our businesses and focusing on products and services that are core to our clients,” said David Marks, Executive Vice President of the bank’s commercial banking unit.
The bank expects the sale not to have any material impact on its financial position or earnings.
Separately, GATX and Brookfield Infrastructure stated that the rail operating lease portfolio comprises approximately 105,000 railcars.
Brookfield would also buy the lender’s rail finance lease portfolio, which is made of about 23,000 railcars and around 440 locomotives.
The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026 or sooner.
Earlier on Thursday, the lender inched closer to lifting its $1.95 trillion asset cap after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency revoked a 2015 penalty related to its previously held financial subsidiaries.
This marked the thirteenth consent order closed by Wells Fargo’s regulators since 2019 and the seventh since the beginning of 2025.
It also testifies to the efforts of CEO Charlie Scharf, who prioritized fixing compliance issues after a fake accounts scandal severely damaged the bank’s public perception.
The company’s final consent order is the 2018 consent order with the Federal Reserve, which includes the asset cap.
Retail sentiment on Stocktwits was in the ‘bearish’ (42/100) territory, while retail chatter was ‘normal.’
Wells Fargo stock has risen 5.72% year to date (YTD).
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