Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company. We provide banking, insurance, trust and investments, mortgage banking, investment banking, retail banking, brokerage, and consumer and commercial finance through banking stores, the internet and other distribution channels to consumers, businesses and institutions in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and in other countries. When we refer to “Wells Fargo,” “the Company,” “we,” “our” or “us,” we mean Wells Fargo & Company and Subsidiaries (consolidated). Wells Fargo & Company (the Parent) is a financial holding company and a bank holding company. We also hold a majority interest in a real estate investment trust, which has publicly traded preferred stock outstanding.

       Our accounting and reporting policies conform with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and practices in the financial services industry. To prepare the financial statements in conformity with GAAP, management must make estimates based on assumptions about future economic and market conditions (for example, unemployment, market liquidity, real estate prices, etc.) that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and income and expenses during the reporting period and the related disclosures. Although our estimates contemplate current conditions and how we expect them to change in the future, it is reasonably possible that actual conditions could be worse than anticipated in those estimates, which could materially affect our results of operations and financial condition. Management has made significant estimates in several areas, including allowance for credit losses and purchased credit-impaired (PCI) loans (Note 5), valuations of residential mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) (Notes 7 and 8) and financial instruments (Note 13), liability for mortgage loan repurchase losses (Note 8) and income taxes. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

       The information furnished in these unaudited interim financial statements reflects all adjustments that are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair statement of the results for the periods presented. These adjustments are of a normal recurring nature, unless otherwise disclosed in this Form 10-Q. The results of operations in the interim financial statements do not necessarily indicate the results that may be expected for the full year. The interim financial information should be read in conjunction with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 (2011 Form 10-K).

Accounting Standards Adopted in 2012

In first quarter 2012, we adopted the following new accounting guidance:

• Accounting Standards Update (ASU or Update) 2011-05, Presentation of Comprehensive Income;
• ASU 2011-12, Deferral of the Effective Date for Amendments to the Presentation of Reclassifications of Items Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income in Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-05;
• ASU 2011-04, Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. GAAP and IFRSs; and
• ASU 2011-03, Reconsideration of Effective Control for Repurchase Agreements.

ASU 2011-05 eliminates the option for companies to include the components of other comprehensive income in the statement of changes in stockholders' equity. This Update requires entities to present the components of comprehensive income in either a single statement or in two separate statements, with the statement of other comprehensive income (OCI) immediately following the statement of income. This Update also requires companies to present amounts reclassified out of OCI and into net income on the face of the statement of income. In December 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-12, which defers indefinitely the requirement to present reclassification adjustments on the statement of income. We adopted the remaining provisions in first quarter 2012 with retrospective application. This Update did not affect our consolidated financial results as it amends only the presentation of comprehensive income.

ASU 2011-04 modifies accounting guidance and expands existing disclosure requirements for fair value measurements. This Update clarifies how fair values should be measured for instruments classified in stockholders' equity and under what circumstances premiums and discounts should be applied in fair value measurements. This Update also permits entities to measure fair value on a net basis for financial instruments that are managed based on net exposure to market risks and/or counterparty credit risk. ASU 2011-04 requires new disclosures for financial instruments classified as Level 3, including: 1) quantitative information about unobservable inputs used in measuring fair value, 2) qualitative discussion of the sensitivity of fair value measurements to changes in unobservable inputs, and 3) a description of valuation processes used. This Update also requires disclosure of fair value levels for financial instruments that are not recorded at fair value but for which fair value is required to be disclosed. We adopted this guidance in first quarter 2012 with prospective application, resulting in expanded fair value disclosures. The measurement clarifications of this Update did not have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements.

ASU 2011-03 amends the criteria companies use to determine if repurchase and similar agreements should be accounted for as sales or financings. Specifically, this Update removes the criterion for transferors to have the ability to meet contractual obligations through collateral maintenance provisions, even if transferees fail to return transferred assets pursuant to the agreements. We adopted this guidance in first quarter 2012 with prospective application to new transactions and existing transactions modified on or after January 1, 2012. This Update did not have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements.

Accounting Standards with Retrospective Application

The following accounting pronouncement has been issued by the FASB but is not yet effective:

• Accounting Standards Update (ASU or Update) 2011-11, Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and Liabilities.

   

  ASU 2011-11 expands the disclosure requirements for financial instruments and derivatives that may be offset in accordance with enforceable master netting agreements or similar arrangements. The disclosures are required regardless of whether the instruments have been offset (or netted) in the statement of financial position. Under ASU 2011-11, companies must describe the nature of offsetting arrangements and provide quantitative information about those agreements, including the gross and net amounts of financial instruments that are recognized in the statement of financial position. These changes are effective for us in first quarter 2013 with retrospective application. This Update will not affect our consolidated financial results since it amends only the disclosure requirements for offsetting financial instruments.

   

  Significant Accounting Policy Update

  In first quarter 2012, we implemented the Interagency Supervisory Guidance on Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses Estimation Practices for Loans and Lines of Credit Secured by Junior Liens on 1-4 Family Residential Properties (Interagency Guidance), which was issued on January 31, 2012. As a result, we aligned our nonaccrual accounting policy with this guidance to accelerate the timing of placing junior lien loans on nonaccrual to coincide with the timing of placing the related real estate 1-4 family first mortgage loans on nonaccrual. Our updated nonaccrual policy is as follows:

   

  We generally place loans on nonaccrual status when:

• the full and timely collection of interest or principal becomes uncertain (generally based on an assessment of the borrower's financial condition and the adequacy of collateral, if any);
• they are 90 days (120 days with respect to real estate 1-4 family first and junior lien mortgages) past due for interest or principal, unless both well-secured and in the process of collection;
• part of the principal balance has been charged off and no restructuring has occurred; or
• effective first quarter 2012, for junior lien mortgages, we have evidence that the related first lien mortgage may be 120 days past due or in the process of foreclosure regardless of the junior lien delinquency status.

There have been no other material changes to our significant accounting policies, as discussed in Note 1 in our 2011 Form 10-K.

Private Share Repurchases

In December 2011, we entered into a private forward repurchase contract with an unrelated third party. This contract settled for approximately 6 million shares of our common stock in first quarter 2012 and met accounting requirements to be treated as a permanent equity transaction. We entered into this contract to complement our open-market common stock repurchase strategies, to allow us to manage our share repurchases in a manner consistent with our capital plan submitted under the 2011 Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR), and to provide an economic benefit to the Company. In connection with this contract, we paid $150 million to the counterparty, which was recorded in permanent equity and was not subject to re-measurement. This up-front payment received permanent equity treatment in the quarter paid and thus assured appropriate repurchase timing, consistent with our 2011 capital plan which contemplated a fixed dollar amount available per quarter for share repurchases pursuant to Federal Reserve Board (FRB) supervisory guidance. In return, the counterparty agreed to deliver a variable number of shares based on a per share discount to the volume-weighted average stock price over the contract period. The counterparty had the right to accelerate settlement with delivery of shares prior to the contractual settlement. There were no scenarios where the contracts would not either physically settle in shares or allow us to choose the settlement method.

In April 2012 we entered into a similar private forward repurchase contract and paid $350 million to an unrelated third party. This contract expires in third quarter 2012; however, the counterparty has the right to accelerate settlement. The amount we paid to the counterparty meets accounting requirements to be treated as a permanent equity reduction.

Supplemental Cash Flow InformationNoncash activities are presented below, including information on transfers affecting MHFS, LHFS, and MSRs.

Subsequent EventsWe have evaluated the effects of subsequent events that have occurred subsequent to period end March 31, 2012, and there have been no material events that would require recognition in our first quarter 2012 consolidated financial statements or disclosure in the Notes to the financial statements. We entered into a private forward contract in April 2012 as discussed in the “Private Share Repurchases” section of this Note.