Wells Fargo has a new region leader

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Wells Fargo has a new area leader for the Maryland and D.C. area who has vowed to make building a team in the Greater Baltimore area a top priority.

Darrel German has been tasked with helping to maintain the banks’ reported $31.9 billion in metro-area deposits, which puts Wells Fargo well ahead of the competition in the region.

“Philadelphia and Baltimore are sister cities, there’s a lot of parity between them,” said German, whose official title is senior vice president, Business Banking Area Manager.

“I’m excited … when I look at where we are going, having a military background has allowed me to plan forward and to be strategic and to really look at where we have success and where we can shape the geography.”

Although German has more than 25 years of banking experience, he also served 32 years in the U.S. Army.

Before his stint at Wells Fargo, German served as senior vice president at TD Bank in Philadelphia where he joined the company as a commercial lender through the Commerce Bank acquisition in 2007. That year, German was awarded Commercial Lender of the Year. Before that tenure, he served as executive vice president and chief financial officer at Mikissack & Mikissack LLC, the oldest African-American owned architectural firm in the country.

German, who holds the rank of Colonel in the U.S. Army, served a tour in Iraq in 2002 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He returned overseas again in 2003 to begin a mission in civil military operations.

“My military background helps in a lot of things I do,” he said.

In his most recent assignment at Wells Fargo, German wants to grow the company’s brand awareness in the Greater Baltimore area.

“I want my bankers to be known as the go-to bankers and to help everyone realize their financial needs,” he said.

While the change of scenery and hiring an all-new team might present challenges to some, German brushes it off as a small task that will lead to big gains for Wells Fargo.

“I don’t see challenges,” he said. “I see opportunity. When you frame things as challenges, you automatically are

impeding progress. If you look at the opportunity to excel and navigate around speed bumps, you’re continually making [progress]. When I talk to my team, the glass is always half-full, never is it half-empty.”

While in Philadelphia, German sat on various boards throughout the community and remains active in his military service.

“My first priority is to build a team that will be aggressive, and I’m just really starting the process where I want to lend my skills in this area,” he said.

A graduate of Historically Black Cheyney University in Philadelphia, German also matriculated from the Combined Arms Staff Service and the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.

He serves as a board member for the Philadelphia Freedom Valley YMCA; the Southeastern Red Cross; the Arden Theater; and the Philadelphia Police Foundation.

All his work has served as motivation to remain positive about helping others and in team building, German said.

“During my days in Philadelphia, when I walked down the street, people knew me as the Wells Fargo guy,” he said. “They knew me as Darrell but they also knew my brand because we were able to get things done.”