Wells Fargo names president of Florida banking

Wells Fargo has tapped Shelley Freeman, its top officer in Los Angeles, to head the massive bank network it acquired in Florida from Wachovia Corp. on Dec. 31.
Freeman, who will be based in the Wachovia Financial Center in Miami as the Florida regional president of community banking, has been with San Francisco-based Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) for 12 years.
She comes from Los Angeles, where she was regional president of that market and national co-leader for the bank’s affluent customer support strategy.
Before that, Freeman led Wells Fargo’s interest investment services and directed its private banking and brokerage administration.
Freeman heads the largest branch network in the state. Wells Fargo did not have any Florida branches until it acquired Wachovia. Now, Freeman will handle that network’s retail, small business and standard business banking.
Wachovia is the second largest bank in the Jacksonville market, with $6.6 billion in local deposits and 22.6 percent market share, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data from June 30.
Wachovia had an 18.7 percent market share in Florida, with $71.1 billion in deposits. One of Freeman’s first tasks will be selecting the next level of leadership here, Wells Fargo spokeswoman Kathy Harrison said. Some positions could be eliminated, but there will also be plenty of job openings. The Wachovia signs will eventually be switched to Wells Fargo, but that’s not of immediate concern, Harrison added.