Carolinas and Phils have both been handed over to Wachovia guys. That is a very positive sign for this rodeo. The acquisition is being handled much better than the one by BAC as on date. The following is from strtribune.com of the 17th January 2009 The CEO of Wells Fargo & Co., now the nation's fourth-largest banker, said Friday the bank has ample capital and has grown its loan portfolio by about 20 percent in the past year as it has taken business from weaker competitors in the beleaguered financial services industry. The brass at Wells Fargo, which recently acquired capital-short Wachovia Corp, the North Carolina institution that operates in the Southeast, also said they believe they can pull off a successful merger similar to that of the Minneapolis-based Norwest buying larger Wells Fargo a decade ago. "I like this deal more than I did at first," said Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf, 55. "This is not our first rodeo. This can be a wonderful long-term deal for our shareholders. We think we're building something for the ages." Stumpf's optimism, however, did not temper a bad day on Wall Street for the financial services industry. Shares of Wells Fargo and other major players swooned as Bank of America and Citigroup, two of the industry's once-proud performers, announced a combined $10 billion in fourth-quarter net losses on credit and other woes. Meanwhile, the federal government has redoubled its efforts to support a financial system that has shown few signs of recovery despite massive capital injections and restructuring in recent months.
$16.16 (01/25/09)
