For months, investors and banking industry executives have privately speculated Wells Fargo could be poised to acquire a smaller lender.

The fourth-largest U.S. bank is no longer subject to the longstanding asset cap that limited its growth, and more broadly, regulators are signaling a willingness to push through bank mergers, the thinking goes.

Wells' finance chief threw cold water on the idea Tuesday while suggesting the firm could instead make a deal tied to payments or tech.

During Barclays' annual financial services conference, an analyst asked Wells CFO Mike Santomassimo if he is thinking about buying another bank, pointing to a recent article that suggested Wells had room to buy another lender.

Santomassimo downplayed that notion, and said the company is focused on organic growth with the ability to grow from within business lines.

"Could you see us do an acquisition that adds some kind of capability in the payments space, or tech? Maybe," said Santomassimo, who joined Wells six years ago from BNY Mellon, where he was CFO. "But I think, overall, there's a high bar for us to think about acquisitions."

Wells' rivals have recently acquired small companies in areas as varied as cybersecurity and perks for credit cardholders.

Last month, Citigroup bought Kard Financial, a start-up that works with financial firms to offer their customers rewards, in an effort to bolster its U.S. credit card business. In late July, Bank of America scooped up an England-based cybersecurity firm called MDSec Consulting Limited. Neither bank disclosed terms of their deals.

Shares of Wells were up 0.5% in volatile trading Tuesday as the S&P 500 fell 0.5%. Wells' stock is down 7% in 2026; the S&P 500 is up 11% this year.