Digital expansion's in the air at Wells Fargo as they extend their Life Sync tool to nearly 70 million customers. While all is bright and shiny in the virtual realm, things aren't as rosy in the brick-and-mortar world.

Wells Fargo's Digital Overhaul

Wells Fargo is taking its digital offerings to the next level. After initially introducing the Life Sync tool to its wealth clients earlier this year, it's now extending access to this nifty financial planning tool to its massive customer base of nearly 70 million. So, what exactly is Life Sync? It's an app that lets mobile users set and track their financial goals, keep an eye on credit scores, and even connect with financial advisers for some sage wisdom.

While this isn't exactly rocket science in the digital age, it's nice to see the bank finally catching up. "We already have around 100,000 goals" set on the tool, which account for $24 billion in financial plans, said Michael Liersch, head of advice and planning at Wells Fargo. Life Sync takes things a step further by allowing users to invest and shuffle money between accounts, all within a few taps on your mobile screen. Now that's innovation.

Digital Magic... and Real World Woes

But let's not get too carried away with the digital wizardry. Yes, this digital expansion is all well and good, but in the real world, Wells Fargo seems to be singing a different tune. You see, they've axed around 50,000 jobs in a massive cost-cutting frenzy. And guess what? They're not done yet! The bank's leadership is hinting at even more job losses in the pipeline.

Job cuts have been going on for some time:

Not only are staff getting the chop, but Wells Fargo's also done some serious pruning when it comes to its branches. They've slashed a solid 6% of their branch count compared to a year ago. So while digital innovation seems to be their latest crush, it doesn't hide the fact that the bank's not exactly the picture of efficiency, as per their own CEO. “This company is not efficient — like, period. End of story,” Charlie Scharf said on the company’s Oct. 13 earnings call. “Even with all of the reductions that we’ve made, it’s not surprising because as you peel the onion back, other things present themselves.”

While closing branches, Wells recently announced that it will add 23 branches in Chicago, where it currently operates only seven locations.

Wells Fargo exceeded Wall Street’s expectations with its third-quarter earnings of $5.8 billion on revenue of $20.9 billion. This compares to profit of $3.6 billion on revenue of $19.6 billion in the third quarter of 2022.

In terms of profits, it seems digital is the way to go, but at what cost to a bank’s physical assets and staff?