Wells could finally put scandals behind, stock looks like a buy, Barron’s says

After years of struggling under the weight of a regulator-imposed asset cap, Wells Fargo could be ready to break free, Andrew Bary writes in this week’s edition of Barron’s. Wells Fargo stock has been a big laggard among major banks in the six years since regulators punished it for creating fake customer accounts by imposing a cap on its assets at about $1.95T. Now it appears the cap could be lifted in 2025 after Wells Fargo submitted a third-party analysis of its overhaul of risk and control processes to the Federal Reserve, according to a Bloomberg report last Thursday. Wells Fargo stock jumped 5% to $56.45 that day, and remains near that level. There could be more upside, given an earnings boost that could come with an end to the cap and the bank’s cheap valuation, the author says.