'This is the largest issuance of common stock by an existing corporate issuer - excluding initial public offerings - in US history,' Wells Fargo said in a statement, citing JPMorgan Securities.

The bank offered 407.5 million shares and sold an additional 61 million shares due to demand.

Wells Fargo, which needs financing to buy Wachovia, fixed the share offering at US$27 in early November, a modest discount to its share price at the time of US$28.77.

'The enthusiastic response to this offering in a very difficult market demonstrates broad investor confidence in Wells Fargo's long-term growth potential and our time-tested vision and diversified business model,' said Wells Fargo's chief financial officer Howard Atkins.

Wells Fargo also has received US$25 billion from the US Treasury as part of the Treasury's US$700 billion bailout of the troubled financial sector. -- AFP