Earlier this year, Wells Fargo shuffled regional managers and broadened oversight to streamline the wealth-management unit. The lender cut its regional managers from 12 to seven, Scanlon said in a May 6 e-mailed statement. Wells Fargo had 6,314 retail branches at the end of 2010, followed by Bank of America with 5,856 and JPMorgan with 5,268, according to year- end filings.
Wells Fargo may offer too many services as it seeks to meet client needs, Testa said. The lender will also compete with rivals including Bank of America that require a similar amount of assets, Testa said. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based lender requires a minimum of $1 million of assets, he said.
"Five million dollars is a sweet spot, but you need more services and more personnel to service that client," Testa said. "Once you start appealing to such a high-net-worth individual, that's when you have to start offering all these ancillary services."