Press Release

Wells Fargo Hosts Homeownership Symposium Featuring HUD Secretary Jackson

WASHINGTON, June 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson will be the keynote speaker at a national housing symposium -- hosted by Wells Fargo Home Mortgage -- June 8, in Washington, D.C. The "Breaking Down Barriers to Homeownership" event is being organized by Wells Fargo and industry and consumer groups to celebrate National Homeownership Month. Financial coach and No. 1 best-selling author David Bach will be a special guest speaker at the symposium with representatives from industry and consumer groups to discuss how to promote homeownership.

"Everyone recognizes the personal and community benefits of homeownership. That is why we are bringing together leaders in the public and private sectors to discuss how we can make the American dream a reality for more people," said Cara Heiden, division president of National Consumer and Institutional Lending, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. "Barriers, real or perceived, need to be removed to help more people across the nation buy their first homes and get on a path to financial success. We are committed to doing this in a fair and responsible manner."

Expert industry panelists, moderated by Phil Bracken, Executive Vice President, Government and Industry Relations, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, will address economic and cultural barriers to homeownership, preparing consumers for the homeownership process, and ways to overcome real and perceived barriers to owning a home.

In addition to Secretary Jackson and Bach, scheduled speakers include leading representatives of the Consumer Federation of America, Mortgage Bankers Association, National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, National Association of Home Builders, National Association of Mortgage Brokers, National Association of REALTORS(R), National Community Reinvestment Coalition, and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage will announce findings from a new survey on the attitudes of renters and first-time homebuyers about homeownership and experts will discuss how these insights can help the public and private sector develop more solutions to increase homeownership and wealth creation in America.

The symposium is one of several steps Wells Fargo Home Mortgage is taking with David Bach as the founding sponsors of The Great American Homeowner Challenge(TM). The goal of this initiative is to inspire 10 million Americans to buy their first home, a second home or investment property in the next three years.

Celebrating its centennial year, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage is the nation's No. 1 retail mortgage lender* and a leading servicer of home mortgages. As a division of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., it has a local presence in more than 2,400 mortgage stores and bank branches, plus the capabilities to serve the home financing needs of customers nationwide through its call centers, Internet presence and wholesale lending operations. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage services loans for 6 million customers in all 50 states and is headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa.

*Based on year-end 2005 statistics compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance -- Feb. 17, 2006

The Great American Homeowner Challenge(TM) is a trademark of FinishRich, Inc. This trademark is used under license from FinishRich Media, LLC by Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.