Bye Wachovia

Posted on 29 Sep 2008 by Justin Ruckman

This morning, Citigroup Inc. announced their agreement to purchase all of Wachovia’s banking operations.

Some key facts:

• Wachovia, in its now dramatically slimmed-down state, will retain its headquarters in Charlotte, holding on to its retail brokerage and Evergreen asset management units
• “new” Citigroup retail banking headquarters will be in Charlotte
• Citigroup is paying $1 per share
• after merger, resulting company will have 4,300 U.S. bank offices, 9.8% U.S. market deposit share, and $1.3 trillion in global deposits
• transition expected to be complete by the end of 2010

In the end, it appears that most of Wachoiva’s current operations in Charlotte will remain here, just under a different name. While there might be a pinch on Wachovia’s investment bankers unless they move to Citi’s New York headquarters, there could be a return migration of Citi retail bankers in their place. Time will tell how the exchange balances out.

The Charlotte Business Journal, naturally, tells the best story, and they’re updating with new posts on the subject at tight intervals. Below are the articles I’ve seen from them so far, in chronological order. I’ll try to come back and update this for a while as new stuff comes in.

• Citigroup to buy Wachovia’s banking operations
• Comparing Wachovia and Citigroup
• Full text of statement by Wachovia
• Treasury secretary’s statement on Citi-Wachovia deal
• Business community reacts to Wachovia-Citi deal
• Full text of statement by Citigroup
• FDIC’s statement on Citi’s Wachovia purchase
• Economist: Deal a big blow to N.C. economy
• A somber mood envelops uptown Charlotte
• Citi CEO: Bank to keep ‘strong presence’ here
• Deal could free up extensive uptown office space
• Frequently asked questions about Wachovia deal
• UNCC professor foresees 3,000 local job cuts

UPDATE

Bizjournals proper and Charlotte Business Journal both have Twitter accounts. Follow them for more info about the financial events today and hereafter.