Wells Fargo to Fed: Bring us your fixer-uppers

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Wells Fargo & Co. CEO John Stumpf tells the San Francisco Business Journal the bank is on the hunt for acquisitions and would entertain the idea of a deal with a troubled financial institution brought in by the Federal Reserve.

‘I would not be averse to a Fed-assisted transaction,’ Stumpf tells the Journal, adding the normal qualifier that the deal would have to make business sense.

The Fed’s arranged marriage of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and ailing brokerage Bear Stearns Cos. on March 16 has raised plenty of speculation about other potential deals to force struggling financial companies into the arms of healthier institutions. Washington Mutual and Ohio’s National City Corp. are widely seen as takeover candidates -- on the right terms for a buyer.

‘Fixer-uppers don’t bother us,’ Stumpf told the Journal.

As long as it doesn’t hurt the company’s stock: Shares of Wells Fargo, long considered one of the best-run banks, are up 2% year to date, compared with 7% decline for the BKX index of 20 major bank shares.

WaMu stock is down 15.5% this year; National City has plunged 30%.