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U.S. Conference of Mayors and Wells Fargo Form Alliance Focused on Foreclosure Prevention, Home Ownership and Community Preserv

^{Published on 2011-06-13 08:05:32 - Market Wire}
 

WASHINGTON & DES MOINES, Iowa--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--The U.S. Conference of Mayors and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) today announced the formation of a national alliance focused on foreclosure prevention, property disposition, homeownership promotion and community development. The three-year outline is designed to address housing challenges through strategies developed by Wells Fargo and outreach initiatives that will involve mayors and their constituents.

"This alliance demonstrates just how important Wells Fargo believes it is to connect with our countrya™s mayors as a resource for what is often their constituentsa™ and our customersa™ most important asset a" their homes"

"With the challenges facing our nation, ita™s important that the private and public sectors work together on options that address each citya™s respective needs,a said Tom Cochran, CEO and Executive Director of The U.S. Conference of Mayors. aWells Fargo and our members share a deep-rooted commitment to sustainable homeownership. Wea™ll do good work together that will benefit our joint communities.a

aThis alliance demonstrates just how important Wells Fargo believes it is to connect with our countrya™s mayors as a resource for what is often their constituentsa™ and our customersa™ most important asset a" their homes,a said Mary Coffin, Executive Vice President for servicing at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. aFor the U.S. Conference of Mayors, we intend to bring proven technical capabilities and educational materials a" through our Leading the Way Home® effort a"to help municipalities address the current housing crises in the cities they serve.a

The alliance will seek to help improve the housing environment in communities across the country by working to educate and connect mayors to ideas, action plans and proven best practices through a variety of outreach initiatives. These efforts will include up to three regional mayoral forums during each year of the alliance. At these forums, mayors will meet face to face to exchange information with each other and learn from Wells Fargo and housing industry experts about the latest developments in efforts to address housing challenges.

According to Cochran, the Conference has been actively involved with foreclosure issues for the last several years. The groupa™s efforts to this point largely have addressed effective and unique strategies, relationships and best practices around the disposition of distressed, vacant and abandoned property in local communities around the nation, including successful strategies and relationships for the disposition of REO property in local communities.

Wells Fargoa™s Leading the Way Home program is a national effort focused on foreclosure prevention, stabilizing communities and promoting sustainable homeownership through education. It is designed to help communities and customers understand and act on efforts to stabilize their current housing situation and build a strong community for the future.

About the U.S. Conference of Mayors

The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more.There are 1,210 such cities in the country today, each represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the Mayor. Find us on [ facebook.com/usmayors ], or follow us on Twitter at [ twitter.com/usmayors ].

About Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage is the nationa™s leading mortgage lender and services one of every six mortgage loans in the nation. A division of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., it has a national presence in mortgage stores and banking stores, and also serves the home financing needs of customers nationwide through its call centers, Internet presence and third-party production channels.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.3 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 9,000 stores, 12,000 ATMs, the Internet ([ wellsfargo.com ] and [ wachovia.com ]), and other distribution channels across North America and internationally. With approximately 280,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in America. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 19 on Fortunea™s 2009 rankings of Americaa™s largest corporations. Wells Fargoa™s vision is to satisfy all our customersa™ financial needs and help them succeed financially.