Minneapolis city leaders launch misguided attack on Wells Fargo

Just a few blocks from Minneapolis City Hall — increasingly seen by many as central command for anti-business rhetoric and policies — Wells Fargo recently built two office buildings near U.S. Bank Stadium. Total cost: $300 million.

One might think members of the City Council would see the banking company, with 11,000 employees in Minneapolis, as a valuable employer and longtime corporate partner. Instead, last week the council instructed city staff to consider ways to "stop doing business with financial institutions [like Wells Fargo] that invest in the fossil fuel industry and in projects such as the Dakota Access Pipeline."

Leading the charge among council members were high-finance gurus Alondra Cano and Cam Gordon, but, disturbingly, the motion passed unanimously. Council members also expressed interest in starting some sort of a municipal banking operation — an idea taxpayers should be wary of for many reasons, not least of which is the lack of business acumen shown by the current cast of city leaders.

The Star Tribune Editorial Board has made its positions clear on the Dakota Access Pipeline and fossil fuels. In short, more scrutiny of the pipeline is necessary after three federal agencies raised concerns about its environmental and cultural risks. But we've also acknowledged that pipelines are the safest way to move crude oil as the nation makes a necessary long-term transition from fossil fuels to renewable resources.

Wells Fargo has worked with the city of Minneapolis for more than a century. The company and its subsidiaries have won contracts through competitive bidding to handle city business such as utility bill payments, wire transfers, investments and bonding. It's not the only financial institution that provides services to Minneapolis — and no doubt not the only one with financial interests in areas Cano and Gordon would find troubling — but it's the one with a target on its corporate back right now.

Cano also referred to the mess in which 2 million accounts were generated for Wells Fargo's clients without their knowledge — a damaging fiasco that cost former CEO John Stumpf his job. No amount of criticism is too much for that scandal, but should it prompt the city of Minneapolis to refuse to do business with one of the region's top employers and get into the municipal banking business? Minneapolis taxpayers should insist the answer to that question be a resounding "no."