Wells Fargo sees higher charge-offs in 2008

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N), the fifth-largest U.S. bank and second-largest U.S. mortgage lender, on Wednesday said it is likely that charge-offs will rise in 2008.

In a prepared statement on the company's Web site, Chief Financial Officer Howard Atkins cited "weakness in housing and the overall state of the U.S. economy" for the forecast.

Earlier Wednesday, the San Francisco-based bank said fourth-quarter profit fell 38 percent, hurt in part by mounting losses from home equity loans.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Editing by John Wallace)