Wells Fargo Provides $400,000 to NCIF to Support Natural Resource-based Businesses

August 5, 2010

Contact:

Vanessa Vaughan, The Conservation Fund, (703) 908-5809, vvaughan@conservationfund.org
Aynsley Wade, Wells Fargo Media, (704) 715-2471, aynsley.wade1@wachovia.com

Chapel Hill, N.C.—Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) has made a $400,000 equity equivalent investment (EQ2) to the Natural Capital Investment Fund (NCIF). The funds will be used to support lending activities for sustainable natural resource-based businesses creating jobs in economically distressed regions, specifically targeting Virginia and North Carolina.

This non-profit business loan fund is affiliated with The Conservation Fund, a national non-profit with a unique dual mission of land and water conservation and economic development.

“The experienced team at NCIF is doing important work to help small businesses,” said Frank Cianciarulo of Wells Fargo Community Lending and Investment. “They go the extra step with their innovative environmental focus and we’re glad to support that.”

“This investment will go a long way towards our goal of improving the economy and environment of communities in North Carolina and southwestern Virginia by supporting the growth of ‘green’ businesses,” said Marten Jenkins, president and CEO of NCIF. “The opportunity for growth and job creation is tremendous, and NCIF is deeply appreciative of Wells Fargo’s commitment to our communities.”

EQ2s are patient capital in the form of below-market-rate loans. This limited resource is reserved for Well Fargo non-profit community development partners that are working to expand affordable housing, job creation, and economic development in the communities where Wells Fargo does business.

About Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo’s Community Lending and Investment division provides debt and equity capital for economic development, job creation and affordable housing in areas of need nationwide. For more about Wells Fargo Community Lending and Investment: www.wellsfargo.com/communitylendingandinvestment.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.2 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 10,000 banking stores, 12,000 ATMs, the Internet (wellsfargo.com and wachovia.com), and other distribution channels across North America and internationally. With more than 278,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in America. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked #19 on Fortune’s 2009 rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy all our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. The Company promotes economic growth and self-sufficiency, education, social services, the arts and the environment in thousands of communities across North America. In 2008, the Company gave $226 million in grants to 14,000 nonprofits. Team members contributed 1.4 million volunteer hours and served on 16,000 nonprofit boards. The merger of Wells Fargo and Wachovia makes our presence twice as strong in the communities we serve. For more about Wells Fargo’s achievements in Social Responsibility: www.wellsfargo.com/about/csr.

About The Conservation Fund

At The Conservation Fund, we combine a passion for conservation with an entrepreneurial spirit to protect your favorite places before they become just a memory. A hallmark of our work is our deep, unwavering understanding that for conservation solutions to last, they need to make economic sense. Top-ranked, we have protected nearly 7 million acres across America.