Wonks Anonymous beloved SF Comical reports that:

Wells Fargo & Co. may be looking to pay back the $25 billion in federal bailout money it received last fall ahead of schedule, as the rules imposed on financial institutions that accepted funds turn increasingly austere, industry analysts say.

Chief Executive Officer John Stumpf signaled the possibility last week, when the San Francisco bank announced it was cutting its common stock dividend by 85 percent.

One can only imagine the human tragedy that will be imposed on the stockholders who forgo their dividends.

But it is probably worth it since government restrictions have already caused hardship to many worthy bankers:

Early last month, Wells Fargo canceled a Las Vegas event for top employees of its mortgage division after a rash of negative publicity. A few weeks later, the bank suspended its performance bonus policy for top executives, citing compensation limitations placed upon companies that received TARP money.

What will we do without their help? We will probably waste the $25 billion on infrastructure education and other fripperies.