Wells Fargo & Company today announced a new goal to lend $20 billion over ten years to women-owned businesses, the third time it has increased its goal since the creation of its Women Business Services program in 1995. Wells Fargo decided to re-establish the goal after surpassing its most-recently stated objective to lend $15 billion over a ten-year period. From 1995 through Q2 2003, Wells Fargo loaned $15.7 billion to women business owners.

The company also announced that Joy Ott, regional president for Wells Fargo banks in Montana, has been named the company's new national spokesperson for Wells Fargo's Women's Business Services program. "The success of women- owned businesses has been amazing, and we hope our latest lending goal sends a strong message that Wells Fargo is unwavering in its commitment to women business owners," said Ott.

Wells Fargo coupled the announcement of its program's new lending goal and spokesperson with the results of new research commissioned by the company with Center for Women's Business Research entitled "Location, Location, Location." According to the study, the nation's fastest-growing locations for women's entrepreneurship are clustered in the Western U.S., led by Idaho and Wyoming, which tied for first place, and followed by Utah, Nevada and Arizona. Between 1997 and 2002, the number of women-owned businesses in these states grew at an average rate of 28.8 percent, compared to 14 percent for all other states.

"This new data confirms that women-owned businesses, despite the sluggish economy, are showing no signs of slowing down and, on the contrary, are demonstrating stronger-than-ever indications that they intend to continue their phenomenal success," said Ott.

"Location, Location, Location" explores how state-specific factors might contribute to the growth and expansion of women-owned businesses, and what differentiates the states with the fastest growth in women's entrepreneurship from the rest of the United States.

In the five high-growth states, employment by women-owned businesses expanded at an average rate of 76.3 percent, compared to an average of 29.9 percent for women-owned firms in the rest of the country. Sales of these firms grew at an average rate of 116.9 percent, compared to an average of 40.9 percent for women-owned businesses in the rest of the country. In addition to high growth rates, the top five states shared similar characteristics, including strong overall business growth and market expansion, a greater than average degree of federal financial support for small business, and higher than average population growth.

"Women business owners in these top five states are taking full advantage of the special opportunities presented by a vibrant, growing economy," said Dr. Sharon Hadary, Executive Director of Center for Women's Business Research. "A relatively low-cost workforce and government programs providing access to capital, training and technical support are also major contributing factors to these amazing growth numbers."