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Wells-Fargo Takes Control of Wachovia

January 6, 2009 by James
Wells-Fargo & Co. completed their $12.7 billion acquisition of Wachovia Corp. this past Friday. The California-based bank now heralds itself as “one of the strongest financial companies in the nation and America’s #1 small business leader” and can now lay claim to over $14 trillion in assets.

The move puts Wells-Fargo in control of Wachovia’s 11,000 stores and 12,260 ATMs operating out of 39 states and does indeed make Wells-Fargo the nationwide leader in small business lending, agriculture lending, commercial real estate lending, commercial real estate brokerage, and bank-owned insurance brokerage. The bank trails only Bank of America in U.S. bank deposits, home mortgage originations and servicing, and retail brokerage.

In a statement provided by CEO John Stumpf, Wells-Fargo said that the bank’s “primary goal is to do what is right for our customers,” a group that now includes everyone who has had an account with Wachovia.

While it may take a number of months to fully integrate the two banks, Stumpf and Wells-Fargo are eager to assure individuals that they will still benefit from the same FDIC insurance plans they had prior to the merger, and that account holders can receive free cash withdrawals and balance inquiries at any Wells-Fargo or Wachovia ATM around the country.

In the meantime, Wells-Fargo will be offering regular updates on the integration at www.wellsfargo.com/wachovia.

This is just one outcome of the shake-up in the banking world since the recession took hold of our economy. Mergers of entities of this size are evidence that a revamping of the industry is already underway with more changes sure to follow.

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