pril 17 (Bloomberg) -- Wells Fargo & Co., the biggest bank on the U.S. West Coast, said first-quarter profit rose 11 percent to a record as borrowing by companies helped it withstand higher loan losses and a drop in the value of its subprime mortgages.

Net income increased to $2.24 billion, or 66 cents a share, from $2.02 billion, or 60 cents, a year earlier, the San Francisco-based bank said today in a statement. The average estimate of 20 analysts compiled by Bloomberg was 65 cents. Revenue advanced 10 percent to $9.44 billion.

Chief Executive Officer Richard Kovacevich used business services such as electronic payroll and bill-paying to lure smaller companies to the bank, and then signed them up for loans. The tactic helped boost commercial lending 11 percent, filling a void left by the mortgage division after Wells Fargo tightened standards on new subprime loans and wrote down the value on existing holdings.

"They haven't really seen a spillover from subprime mortgage issues into their prime business,'' said Joseph Dickerson, a London-based analyst at Atlantic Equities LLP. "They're making the right moves to reduce loan volumes coming from problem areas where you're seeing home-price declines.''

The shares fell 26 cents to $35.25 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. They're down almost 0.9 percent this year, compared with a 1.9 percent drop for the KBW Bank Index. ooking for Wells Fargo Foreclosures reviews or to compare wells fargo foreclosures? Click through to read great refinancing foreclosures fargo wells articles and reviews to help you find low cost and discount eloan wells foreclosures fargo. Enjoy our foreclosures wells fargo home equity loans!BOSTON (Reuters) - Challenges facing homeowners today are so manifold that even lenders' best efforts to stave off foreclosures may never work, according to a major lender and a community group on Monday.

The combination of falling home prices, rising payments on adjustable mortgages and higher unemployment in some regions have created problems so diverse that single solutions -- such as widening the Federal Housing Administration's reach -- will not be enough, said Mary Coffin, an executive vice president for Wells Fargo & Co.'s (WFC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) loan servicing group.