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Why Is Wells Fargo Warren Buffett's 2nd Biggest Holding?

Sep. 22, 2012 - SeekingAlpha.com

http://seekingalpha.com/article/882071-why-is-wells-fargo-warren-buffett-s-2nd-biggest-holding?source=yahoo

 

America's second-largest home lender also stands to be the most favored bank of billionaire Warren Buffett. The bank is set to be his second biggest holding in Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A). Buffett has increased his investments in the bank, owing to the rebounding U.S. housing markets. Buffett believes that the bank, being the largest mortgage lender, will benefit from the housing markets, which we believe have bottomed. There is plenty of data to suggest that U.S. housing markets are on their way to a recovery

 

 

Earnings History

 

The bank has a history of surpassing its consensus earnings estimates, as shown in the table below. In the second quarter of the current year, the bank, despite posting a turnover figure that was in line with expectations, surpassed its EPS consensus estimate by 0.89%. Overall, the bank has surpassed its revenue and earnings estimates by 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively, in the past five quarters.

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Mmmmm?

 

Today's filing...maybe something to understand and file away..

 

 

Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2)

File No. 333-180728

 

 

Wells Fargo & Company

 

 

 

Medium-Term Notes, Series K

 

Commodity Linked Securities

 

 

 

 

    Buffered Jump Securities

 

Based on the Performance of Brent Crude Oil Futures due September 25, 2015

 

 

 

   

    n    Linked to Brent crude oil futures

   

 

    n    Unlike ordinary debt securities, the securities do not pay interest or repay a fixed amount of principal at maturity. Instead, the securities provide for a payment at maturity that may be greater than, equal to or less than the original offering price of the securities, depending on the performance of Brent crude oil futures from the starting price to the ending price. The payment at maturity will reflect the following terms:

 

   

        n    If the settlement price of Brent crude oil futures equals the starting price or increases, you will receive the original offering price plus a return equal to the greater of (i) the contingent minimum return of 12% of the original offering price and (ii) the percentage increase in the settlement price of Brent crude oil futures from the starting price to the ending price

 

   

        n    If the settlement price of Brent crude oil futures decreases but the decrease is not more than 15%, you will be repaid the original offering price

 

   

        n    If the settlement price of Brent crude oil futures decreases by more than 15%, you will receive less than the original offering price and have 1-to-1 downside exposure to the decrease in the settlement price of Brent crude oil futures in excess of 15%

 

   

    n    Investors may lose up to 85% of the original offering price

   

   

    n    All payments on the securities are subject to the credit risk of Wells Fargo & Company

   

   

    n    No periodic interest payments

   

   

    n    An investment in the securities is not the same as an investment in Brent crude oil futures

   

   

    n    No exchange listing; designed to be held to maturity

 

 

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I've been wondering about these linked products as well. I looked for some big protective covenant that would protect WFC's interest, but these products seem relatively straight forward. Wachovia used to screw over small investors with linked securities that would take from principal to pay for unwinding hedges in the case of early termination.

 

 

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I've been wondering about these linked products as well. I looked for some big protective covenant that would protect WFC's interest, but these products seem relatively straight forward. Wachovia used to screw over small investors with linked securities that would take from principal to pay for unwinding hedges in the case of early termination.

 

There is nothing new about these linked products.  They've been doing them for well over a decade.  It wouldn't surprise me if WFC was a little late to the game on them, but they are typically very straightforward instruments.  I don't know anything about these specific ones, but on the surface there is nothing to be concerned about. 

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I've been wondering about these linked products as well. I looked for some big protective covenant that would protect WFC's interest, but these products seem relatively straight forward. Wachovia used to screw over small investors with linked securities that would take from principal to pay for unwinding hedges in the case of early termination.

 

There is nothing new about these linked products.  They've been doing them for well over a decade.  It wouldn't surprise me if WFC was a little late to the game on them, but they are typically very straightforward instruments.  I don't know anything about these specific ones, but on the surface there is nothing to be concerned about.

 

The problem is that you can track changing quality for many of WFC's products, but their structured offerings are a mystery. I'm relying on past history + behavior in other areas to feel comfortable, but that's a relatively sorry best-efforts strategy.

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I think an important factor in investing is banks is return OF capital.  If you look through the history of banking, they find new ways of losing money all the time.  Every once in a while a whole bunch of them will go bankrupt.

Investment banks that do proprietary trading are a little worse.  Buffett keeps learning the hard way about prop trading (e.g. GenRe, Salomon Brothers).

 

I think what Buffett values in Wells Fargo is its management.  He doesn't think that they will do really dumb things.  Wells Fargo has also been around for a long time.

*Wells Fargo was one of many banks which had people squatting in their own homes.  I don't know enough about banking to figure out if management is smart.

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Operation twist will make NIM worse rather than improve it.In operation twist , Fed is buying long term treasury so it will lower the yield on long term treasury.This will lower the spread between long term and short term rates. NIM has direct  correlation  to spread between long term and short term rates.

Steeper the yield curve , greater the  NIM value would be.

 

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Yeah, they were all down today.  I guess the rally this week was a pre-earnings rally.  Everyone is hung up on Net Interest Margins being tight.  My read a few weeks ago was that operation twist should improve NIM.

 

Operation twist will not help, as it drives down longer term rates, so the spreads on loans and deposits narrows.  That being said, markets are ridiculously stupid about how they react to any reduction in NIM.  Loans are growing by leaps and bounds; loan loss provisions are incredibly low; banks are still making money hand over fist; capital levels are the highest in 50 years...silly reaction today.  Cheers!

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Yeah, they were all down today.  I guess the rally this week was a pre-earnings rally.  Everyone is hung up on Net Interest Margins being tight.  My read a few weeks ago was that operation twist should improve NIM.

 

Operation twist will not help, as it drives down longer term rates, so the spreads on loans and deposits narrows.  That being said, markets are ridiculously stupid about how they react to any reduction in NIM.  Loans are growing by leaps and bounds; loan loss provisions are incredibly low; banks are still making money hand over fist; capital levels are the highest in 50 years...silly reaction today.  Cheers!

 

Yes, of course.  I realize I was confusing operation twist with the latest scheme which is the 40 B/month of mortgage buying.  That Benefits banks by putting a floor on mortgage values, and providing a ready market for servicing new mortgages. 

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Yeah, they were all down today.  I guess the rally this week was a pre-earnings rally.  Everyone is hung up on Net Interest Margins being tight.  My read a few weeks ago was that operation twist should improve NIM.

 

Operation twist will not help, as it drives down longer term rates, so the spreads on loans and deposits narrows.  That being said, markets are ridiculously stupid about how they react to any reduction in NIM.  Loans are growing by leaps and bounds; loan loss provisions are incredibly low; banks are still making money hand over fist; capital levels are the highest in 50 years...silly reaction today.  Cheers!

 

Yes, of course.  I realize I was confusing operation twist with the latest scheme which is the 40 B/month of mortgage buying.  That Benefits banks by putting a floor on mortgage values, and providing a ready market for servicing new mortgages.

 

Yeah Al, you are correct.  Buying mortgage bonds back is beneficial.  Cheers!

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