Archive for the ‘Wells Fargo’ tag
Wachovia Fail? In Talks With Citigroup & Wells Fargo
After the mostly overlooked yet spectacular collapse of Washington Mutual (its shareholders certainly knew she tanked), it appears Wachovia, which was similarly capitalized, is on the trading block with two potential partners. Reportedly Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. are bidding to take over Wachovia with Spain’s Banco Santander SA (according to the Wall Street Journal anyway) as a possible third bidder in the process.
Wachovia’s stock price fell 27% on Friday and then another 15% in after hours trading.
Wachovia’s current problems stem largely from its acquisition of mortgage lender Golden West Financial Corp. in 2006 for roughly $25 billion at the height of the nation’s housing boom. With that purchase, Wachovia inherited a deteriorating $122 billion portfolio of Pick-A-Payment loans, Golden West’s specialty, which let borrowers skip some payments
But like many other banks, Wachovia stands to benefit from the passage of the government’s proposed $700 billion rescue plan — the details of which were emerging from Washington on Sunday.