Post 200 The guide to the region's top businesses

A worker puts up a Wells Fargo sign at a former Wachovia Bank location in Arlington. (Jeffrey MacMillan/Capital Business)

Banks and credit unions

Wells Fargo

At the start of the year, the bank’s regional president of retail banking for greater Washington, George Swygert, stepped down, after prepping area branches for the Wachovia-to-Wells Fargo rebranding. Within a month of his departure, Michael Golden, a 26-year veteran of the banking firm, stepped into the position. The rebranding was completed in September in the Washington area, where Wells Fargo holds the crown as the largest bank by deposits.

Trivia

In 1879 Wells Fargo delivered a Siamese cat, via its express messengers, to Mrs. Rutherford B. Hayes at the White House. The kitty was a gift to first lady Lucy Webb Hayes from David Sickels, American Consul in Bangkok. Wells Fargo valued the cat at $10 and levied a bill of $7.95 for express charges