Wells Fargo 4Q profit rises 20 pct SUMMARY BOX: Wells Fargo 4Q profit rises 20 pct Jan 17 10:59 AM US/Eastern NEW YORK (AP) - PROFIT JUMPS: Wells Fargo & Co. posted a 20 percent gain in fourth-quarter profit, to $4.11 billion, or 73 cents per share. DEPOSITS RISE: Average deposits rose 9 percent to $864.9 billion, as consumers opened more checking accounts and deposited more money in checking and savings accounts. LENDING IMPROVES: The amount of mortgages the bank wrote jumped 35 percent compared with the third quarter to $120 billion. Average loans rose 2 percent from last year to $768.6 billion.