To be sure, Wells Fargo funds business, which ranks 28th nationally, plays a secondary role for investors, who focus more on other, bigger divisions of the bank.
"It's a small piece of Wells Fargo's business and doesn't drive the stock price," said Shannon Stemm, an analyst at Edward Jones.
Still, at least in the immediate aftermath of the scandal that led to a $185 million settlement and dismissal of 5,300 employees, some of the bank's staff grappled with the repercussions.
Employees at Wells Fargo's institutional retirement and trust unit were fielding about 75 calls a week after the settlement from participants in pension plans in which the bank acts as custodian or record-keeper, Ready told San Diego pension officials at a special meeting in October, the minutes showed.
The callers wanted assurances that their money was walled off from the retail banking operations, Wells Fargo executives told San Diego pension officials.
One executive sought to distance herself from the head office altogether.
At a Nov. 10 meeting of the North Carolina supplemental retirement board, Carrie Callahan, a managing partner at Galliard Asset Management, noted how Galliard was a subsidiary of Wells Fargo but a distinct brand.
"She stressed that there had been no impact to Galliard's business due to the activity at Wells Fargo," according to the meeting's minutes.
Callahan declined to comment. North Carolina officials were not available to comment.
This article was provided by Reuters.