Wells Fargo keeps mum on TARP repayment plans

Wells Fargo & Co , one of the few major banks that has yet to return bailout funds to the U.S. government, still plans to return its $25 billion as soon as practical, but Chief Executive John Stumpf at a conference on Tuesday did not give any more details.

The San Francisco-based bank has said repeatedly over the last several months that it will repay the money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program as soon as practical and in a shareholder friendly manner.

When analysts at the Goldman Sachs conference asked Stumpf to give details as to how and when the money might be returned, he declined to comment beyond repeating this statement.

Bank of America Corp last week in a surprise announcement said it will repay its $45 billion in TARP funds.

Citigroup Inc , which also has yet to exit TARP, and the U.S. government disagree over how much the bank should raise to repay taxpayers and talks may not finish for weeks or even months, people briefed on the matter told Reuters on Monday.

In a research report UBS analysts wrote that most banks are unlikely to repay funds received under the bailout plan at least until 2010 or beyond, and the regulators will set different terms for different banks.

Banks with stronger capital positions and more earning visibility, including Wells Fargo and PNC Financial Services

, will return TARP money sooner, wrote analyst Heather Wolf in a note to clients.

(Reporting by Elinor Comlay, editing by Dave Zimmerman.)