Credit-seeking small-business owners in the Valley have caught the eye of San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co., so the bank has opened a one-stop “superstore” in Sherman Oaks to service their broad needs. The 7,100-square-foot shop at 14601 Ventura Blvd. debuted in May and will help customers launch businesses and keep existing ones afloat. Wells Fargo hopes the business owners will stay with the bank once they expand. Roughly 30 employees staff the new site, including bankers specializing in services that can help small business owners understand and manage fundamentals. They can help with managing employee payroll, understanding complex credit issues, obtaining lines of credit and equipment financing, and getting Small Business Administration loans. The new superstores are the latest effort in Wells Fargo’s greater focus on small-business services that was spawned by a Gallup Inc. survey the bank did a couple of years ago. Surveyed business owners said they wanted to know more about credit – how to determine when they need it and then how to get it – so they could keep their ventures open and growing. “Today we are placing an even greater emphasis on supporting small businesses across America,” said Marla Clemow, president of the L.A. metropolitan area, Valley and South Coast region for Wells Fargo. “When small businesses are successful, it helps to drive the economy.” The bank has opened 11 such stores in Los Angeles County since 2014 and plans to open additional ones in West Los Angeles, Westwood and Silver Lake by either the end of this year or the beginning of next, Clemow said. Wells Fargo also has lent $22.6 billion toward its recent pledge of making $100 billion in new small-business loans by 2018. Last year, the bank launched the Wells Fargo Works for Small Business website with small-business resources. This year, it added the Business Plan Center to the site to help entrepreneurs write business plans. The new superstores will also have tellers, financial advisers and private bankers for financial and wealth planning as well as automated teller machines that can cash checks and distribute the cash in any bill denominations. – Carol Lawrence
