Wells tries to snatch San Francisco purse

Feb. 4, 2000
Wells Fargo wants to steal away the city of San Francisco's bank accounts from rival Bank of America, and it's raiding BofA's executive suite to do it.
The bank has lured Jim Thompson -- who oversaw San Francisco's accounts at BofA -- to spearhead the effort. Since October, he has built a seven-person government and education banking division, most of them also BofA émigrés, to boost the bank's business with California municipalities.
Not coincidentally, Thompson's hiring comes at a time when BofA's long-standing contract with San Francisco seems ripe for the taking.