Wells Fargo Bets on Credit Cards & Auto Loans to Drive 2026 Growth

Wells Fargo & Company WFC expects loan growth to pick up in 2026, with credit cards and auto lending leading the way, chief financial officer Mike Santomassimo commented at the UBS Financial Services Conference held on Feb. 10, according to an MSN article, citing Reuters.

The bank’s credit card portfolio has been a consistent growth engine, supported by products rolled out over the past few years. Management says more launches are planned, including offerings aimed at wealth-management clients, suggesting cards will remain a core driver of consumer lending growth.

Auto lending is the other bright spot. Santomassimo noted that the business is gaining momentum, helped by preferred financing partnerships with major carmakers such as Volkswagen and Audi in the U.S. Wells Fargo sees that business continuing to expand this year. By contrast, the mortgage segment is expected to be flat, following a prolonged slowdown as higher interest rates weighed on demand.

Importantly, management noted that consumer spending remains solid and credit quality is holding up, with no signs of broad deterioration across its loan books. The outlook also comes at a pivotal moment for the bank. Following the removal of the Federal Reserve’s long-standing asset cap, Wells Fargo now has greater flexibility to pursue organic balance-sheet growth after years of regulatory constraints. Management appears focused on expanding in areas where it sees sustainable demand while maintaining credit discipline.

Overall, WFC is positioning 2026 as a return-to-growth year for its loan portfolio, leaning heavily on credit cards and auto lending. With consumer credit holding up and regulatory constraints easing, the bank sees room to grow, though execution and credit performance will remain closely watched by investors. Management expects 2026 loan growth to be in the mid-single digit.

Where Do WFC’s Peers Stand in Terms of Loan Growth?

Bank of America BAC remains focused on strengthening the loan portfolio. Despite a challenging operating environment, loan balances have been solid over the past several years. As of Dec. 31, 2025, Bank of America’s net loans and leases were $1.17 trillion, increasing 8.3% from the December 2024 end.

Despite some macroeconomic headwinds, demand for loans is expected to rise in the quarters ahead, given the decline in interest rates. Over the medium term, Bank of America expects loans to see a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5%.

PNC Financial’s PNC loans continue to witness strong growth. Over the past six years (2019-2025), the company’s loans witnessed a CAGR of 5.5%. The company has also taken strategic steps to enhance its lending capacity. In sync with this, in October 2023, PNC Financial acquired approximately $16 billion in loan commitments from Signature Bank. 

The company expects average loans to rise 5% from the fourth-quarter 2025 reported figure of $327.9 billion. For 2026, PNC Financial’s average loans are expected to grow 8% from the 2025 baseline of $323.4 billion.

WFC’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

Shares of Wells Fargo have risen 15.6% over the past six months compared with the industry’s growth of 6.9%.

Price Performance

From a valuation standpoint, WFC trades at a 12-month trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) of 13.14X, below the industry’s 14.64X.

Price-to-Earnings F12M

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WFC’s 2026 and 2027 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 9.9% and 12.8%, respectively. In the past week, earnings estimates for 2026 and 2027 have been unchanged.

Estimate Revision Trend

Wells Fargo currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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