To meet growing demand for Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), Wells
Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) announced today that Kim Abello has joined
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.’s Commercial Banking Division to lead its ESOP
efforts nationwide.
Kim Abello, Wells Fargo's new head of Employee Stock Ownership Plan unit (Photo: Business Wire)
In recent years, retiring baby boomer business owners have driven steady
adoption of the tax-advantaged employee benefit plans, which were
created by Congress 40 years ago to encourage the purchase of private
company shares by its employees.
Abello will lead a nationwide team of relationship managers specializing
in ESOPs, and in partnership with advisors and experts in other Wells
Fargo lines of business, her team will help privately-owned businesses
transition to an ESOP. This unique Wells Fargo partnership will provide
ESOP expertise in many areas, including initial ESOP stock purchases,
second-stage transaction financing, refinancing of seller notes, mergers
and acquisitions, and expansion of business operations for ESOP
companies.
In 1975, just one year after ESOPs were made part of Congress’ Employee
Retirement Income Security Act, there were approximately 1,500 ESOPs
covering about 250,000 employees, according to the National
Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO) reports. Today, there are
approximately 8,900 ESOPs covering 13.5 million employees, the
organization reported.
Wells Fargo currently serves five of the top 10 companies on NCEO’s
list of America’s 100 largest majority employee-owned companies.
Abello anticipates even more Wells Fargo middle-market business owners
will take advantage of ESOPs as an exit or retirement strategy.
“This is an exciting time to be involved in the ESOP business community
and to work with an outstanding financial services company that serves
more middle-market, privately-owned businesses than anyone else,” Abello
said. “Wells Fargo has a strong, existing portfolio of companies with
ESOPs, and we are continuing to enhance our efforts to provide guidance
to middle-market customers on the many benefits of the ESOP strategy.”
Among their many benefits, ESOPs can give retiring baby boomers a means
to perpetuate their business through a sale to the employees, as well as
provide liquidity and diversification for estates of business owners,
and may allow business owners to defer capital gains. ESOPs also provide
employees with a personal stake in the long-term success of the
business, Abello said.
“Kim and her team will serve as a valuable resource for more than 700 of
our Commercial Bank relationship managers across the country,” said
MaryLou Barreiro, executive vice president and head of Specialty Lending
for Wells Fargo Commercial Banking. “Her experience and leadership
greatly enhances our ability to help ESOP companies and those companies
looking at ESOP as a possible strategy.”
Abello has 20 years of experience in corporate finance, most recently
managing ESOPs for the Midwest at J.P. Morgan Chase. Before that, Abello
was a managing director at Duff & Phelps, a valuation and financial
consulting firm, where she helped businesses with ownership transition
options, including ESOPs.
Abello earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of
Illinois and holds a master’s degree in taxation from DePaul University.
Abello is a certified public accountant and accredited senior business
appraiser. She is a member of Employee Owned S Corporations of America,
The ESOP Association, the National Center for Employee Ownership, the
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and serves as vice
president of membership for the Illinois Chapter of the ESOP Association.
About Wells Fargo Commercial Banking
With more than 140 offices in 38 states and three Canadian provinces,
Wells Fargo Commercial Banking provides local service and
decision-making for businesses with annual revenues of greater than $20
million. Asset-based lending, traditional secured loans, and capital
markets provide access to working capital for day-to-day operations and
growth. Expertise and services are available to specialty industries,
including technology, food and agribusiness, healthcare, government,
higher education, clean technology, and environmental services. Wells
Fargo has the highest market share of middle-market company
relationships in the U.S., according to the 2013 TNS Commercial Banking
Momentum Monitor.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) is a nationwide, diversified,
community-based financial services company with $1.6 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 locations, 12,500 ATMs, and the internet
(wellsfargo.com), and has offices in 36 countries to support customers
who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 265,000
team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United
States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 29 on Fortune’s 2014
rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is to
satisfy all our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed
financially. Wells Fargo perspectives are also available at Wells
Fargo Blogs and Wells
Fargo Stories.
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