The Pony Express of banking will soon put its mark on North Georgia.
Nearly two years after buying Wachovia Corp., Wells Fargo & Co. plans this fall to put its name on 280 bank branches across Georgia and 17 bank locations in Tennessee, including seven branches in Northwest Georgia.
Wells Fargo, which the FDIC says is behind only BB&T in deposits in metropolitan Dalton, will convert all three of its Dalton offices, along with other branches in Ringgold, Fort Oglethorpe, LaFayette and Chatsworth, Ga., to Wells Fargo-brand outlets by late October.
Wells Fargo bought Wachovia for $2.1 billion at the end of 2008 and has or is in the process of adding about 20 percent more tellers and bankers in the renamed Wells Fargo bank branches, which the lender dubs bank stores.
In North Georgia, the staff additions will mean 35 more jobs for the region, bank spokesman Ryan Hill said. Wells Fargo bank stores also offer new homeowners and renters insurance policies, identity theft protection and credit card and payroll services for small businesses.