Kristy Fercho wants everyone to know that Wells Fargo is serious about diversity and inclusion.
In May, Fercho became full-time head of diverse segments, representation & inclusion, a division of Wells Fargo that was launched in 2020. She replaced Kleber Santos, who now heads the bank's consumer lending division.
"Kleiber's 2 ½ years was laying the foundation of the job," Fercho said. "My next 2 ½ years is about building a sustainable infrastructure so this isn't just something we do on the side, but it really does get integrated into the foundation of how we do business."
There is much work to be done, she said. Last October, the bank acknowledged in a public filing that it is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission over its hiring practices related to diversity. The federal inquiries followed a New York Times story
"There's definitely been some challenges we've had over the past couple of years," said Fercho, who added that she has discussed the investigations with Wells Fargo's CEO Charles Scharf.
"Charlie has been really clear that we have got regulatory challenges, and we've got to get those behind us. That's got to be priority one," she said.
Fercho was formerly head of Wells Fargo's home lending division. Leading up to her new role, Fercho met with the bank's employees across the United States to discuss how employees felt about Wells Fargo's commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and how the bank might improve.
Fercho said that she came away from those discussions pleasantly surprised. Not only did most employees agree that diverse viewpoints and backgrounds were important, but they believed Wells Fargo is doing a good job on the issue.
"People felt and believed that it was something Wells Fargo was committed to," Fercho said. "They even said they joined Wells Fargo because of its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion."
Fercho is seeking to bring more Black and Hispanic bankers into senior leadership roles at the bank. Presently, 7% of senior leaders identify as Black, and 5% as Hispanic, according to Wells Fargo's diversity, equity and inclusion report released in June. Fercho, a Black senior leader herself, said that the bank does not have a specific target that it hopes to hit on diversifying its top ranks.
Fercho can point to other initiatives she has led that were aimed at boosting minority homeownership. This includes Wells Fargo's special purpose credit program in which the bank doled out $150 million to help about 3,200 Black homeowners refinance their mortgages, while keeping enrollees' monthly mortgage payments at a 3.75% interest rate.
Fercho is also the past chair of the Mortgage Bankers Association. In that role, she said she convinced more than 350 MBA members to sign off on a "home for all" pledge that supports public policies that advance minority homeownership and affordable rental housing.
