BANKING & FINANCE - March 4, 1994

Wells Fargo Reportedly Rebuffed: Los Angeles-based First Interstate Bancorp rebuffed an offer to merge with Wells Fargo & Co. last week, ending speculation about what could have been one of the largest U.S. banking mergers, according to a published report. Despite First Interstate’s rejection of the proposal, talks continued at the end of last week on possible transactions short of a full-fledged merger, the American Banker newspaper reported. Wells Fargo and First Interstate declined to comment. First Interstate, the nation’s 13th-largest bank with, $51.5 billion in assets, operates in 13 western states. San Francisco-based Wells Fargo, the nation’s 12th-largest, with $52.5 billion in assets, has branch banking operations only in California.