RISK FACTORS
Your investment in the notes will involve
risks not associated with an investment in conventional debt
securities. You should carefully consider the risk factors set
forth below as well as the other information contained in the
prospectus supplement and prospectus, including the documents they
incorporate by reference. You should reach an investment decision
only after you have carefully considered with your advisors the
appropriateness of an investment in the notes in light of your
particular circumstances.
Risks Relating To The Notes
Generally
The Amount Of Interest You
Receive May Be Less Than The Return You Could Earn On Other
Investments.
Interest rates may change significantly
over the term of the notes, and it is impossible to predict what
interest rates will be at any point in the future. The interest
rate payable on the notes may be more or less than prevailing
market interest rates at any time during the term of the notes. As
a result, the amount of interest you receive on the notes may be
less than the return you could earn on other
investments.
The Per Annum Interest Rate
Will Affect Our Decision To Redeem The Notes.
It is more likely that we will redeem the
notes prior to the stated maturity date during periods when the
remaining interest is to accrue on the notes at a rate that is
greater than that which we would pay on a conventional fixed-rate
non-redeemable note of comparable maturity. If we redeem the notes
prior to the stated maturity date, you may not be able to invest in
other notes that yield as much interest as the
notes.
Holders Of The Notes Have
Limited Rights Of Acceleration.
Payment of principal on the notes may be
accelerated only in the case of payment defaults that continue for
a period of 30 days or certain events of bankruptcy or insolvency,
whether voluntary or involuntary. If you purchase the notes, you
will have no right to accelerate the payment of principal on the
notes if we fail in the performance of any of our obligations under
the notes, other than the obligations to pay principal and interest
on the notes. See “Description of Debt Securities of Wells Fargo
& Company—Events of Default and Covenant Breaches” in the
accompanying prospectus.
Holders Of The Notes Could Be
At Greater Risk For Being Structurally Subordinated If We Convey,
Transfer Or Lease All Or Substantially All Of Our Assets To One Or
More Of Our Subsidiaries.
Under the indenture, we may convey,
transfer or lease all or substantially all of our assets to one or
more of our subsidiaries. In that event, third-party creditors of
our subsidiaries would have additional assets from which to recover
on their claims while holders of the notes would be structurally
subordinated to creditors of our subsidiaries with respect to such
assets. See “Description of Debt Securities of Wells Fargo &
Company—Consolidation, Merger or Sale” in the accompanying
prospectus.
Risks Relating To An
Investment In Wells Fargo’s Debt Securities, Including The
Notes
The Notes Are Subject To The
Credit Risk Of Wells Fargo.
The notes are our obligations and are not,
either directly or indirectly, an obligation of any third party.
Any amounts payable under the notes are subject to our
creditworthiness. As a result, our actual and perceived
creditworthiness may affect the value of the notes and, in the
event we were to default on our obligations, you may not receive
any amounts owed to you under the terms of the
notes.
Our Ability To Service Our
Debt, Including The Notes, May Be Limited By The Results Of
Operations Of Our Subsidiaries And Certain Contractual
Arrangements.
We conduct substantially all of our
activities and operations through our subsidiaries and are a
separate and distinct legal entity from those subsidiaries. We
receive substantially all of our funding and liquidity from
dividends, loans and other distributions from our subsidiaries. We
generally use these funds, among other sources, to satisfy our
financial obligations, including principal and interest on our
debt, including the notes. In addition to limitations under laws
and regulations applicable to us and our subsidiaries (as discussed
below), funds available to us from our subsidiaries will be
contingent upon the financial performance and condition of those
subsidiaries. Adverse