Well's Fargo & Co. in a full-page ad in Sunday's New York Times and Washington Post defended corporate events that recognize high achievers after the bank canceled at least two because of misleading news coverage.

The newspaper ads headlined The Value of Team Member Recognition, included a message from the company's CEO John Stumpf who wrote many media stories on this subject have been deliberately misleading. These one-sided stories lead you to believe every employee recognition event is a junket, a boondoggle, a waste, or that it's for highly paid executives. Nonsense!

The bank, especially after receiving $25 billion from the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program last year, has been compelled to cancel the meetings amid misperceptions created by media reports, he said.

Wells spokeswoman Julia Tunis Bernard said the ad attempts to compensate those employees for the thanks they will not receive this year at their canceled events, according to Reuters.

This advertisement was a way to publicly acknowledge their accomplishments so that all of our stakeholders know how much we value their accomplishments, she said.

The bank shares closed at $19.14 on Friday, the stock is down 35 percent in the past 12 months.

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