Stagecoach Pulls Into Town

Having swallowed up Wachovia Bank, Wells Fargo galloped into downtown New Haven to open a branch near the Green and shower a little dough on four local not-for-profits. Meanwhile, Downtown Alderwoman Bitsie Clark hitched a wagon ride.

Before the oversized checks were handed out at the Hollywood-style opening event Tuesday morning, the mayor, Gateway Community College President Dorsey Kendrick and 75 others heard the Liberty Bells singing group crooning what turned out to be Clark’s favorite song.

You guessed it: ​“The Wells Fargo Wagon” from The Music Man.

Amid the shtick, the event marked the conversion of 381,000 Connecticut customers from Wachovia to Wells Fargo. The conversion, which included everything from computer systems to signage, concluded on March 12. It was part of the largest bank merger in U.S. history.

It occurred at a time when New Haven and communities across the state are still reeling from the effects of the foreclosure crisis. Wells Fargo has been one of the most active lenders foreclosing on New Haveners’ homes. Although it didn’t have banks here before, the nationwide lender had held many of the mortgages given to New Haven property owners.

Asked about that, Joe Kirk, the bank’s New York and Connecticut regional president, who presided over the event, said, ​“We’re proud of the work we’re doing to help people stay in their homes.”

Kirk announced four grants Tuesday: $10,000 to Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS), $30,000 to the Connecticut Food Bank, $20,000 to the Shubert Theater, and $50,000 for the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce Small Business Assistance Center.

NHS Executive Director Jim Paley (second from right, with Kirk far left) called this a ​“challenging” time in terms of the foreclosure crisis. He called the bank a partner in dealing with it.

Gateway’s Kendrick said that while her school does not have an account with the bank, Wells Fargo is in its second year underwriting a program funding 35 high schoolers to take college courses.

“They [the bank] want to be part of educational reform. When they [the funded kids] see they have got some credits [sometimes up to 35 credits before high school graduation], that becomes the hook for higher education,” she said.

Noting that Wells Fargo holds the city’s general account as well as an $80 million line of credit for capital projects, Mayor John DeStefano joked that he does not attend every bank merger party. That was a reference to a competing bank across the street: NewAlliance, in the process of being taken over by Buffalo-based First Niagara in a $1.5 billion deal the mayor has publicly opposed.

DeStefano welcomed Wells Fargo to town. ​“The best thing they can do is go the extra mile to look at business and housing loans to continue to grow the city,” he said.

Asked about Wells Fargo’s New Haven foreclosures, DeStefano said, ​“I look forward to them and all the banks to being reasonable in their dealings” with homeowners and businesses. He also suggested that now that the bank is in town, it will be more accessible.

In the meantime, Clark was being pulled by a team of four around the Green.