wachovia

But the legal back-and-forth didn't appear to derail the discussions about splitting up Wachovia, said people familiar with the matter.

Wachovia was able to line up a second bank to help on the deal, and the credit line has not been threatened, according to Mr. Derrick.

Wachovia's creditors were spared that fate in the bank's equally rushed sale to Citi group a few days later.

"We think there is further room for declines into at least early summer, " said the chief economist at Wachovia.

Toward the end of the meeting, Wachovia's general counsel was allowed to dial in by phone.

Until its deluded purchase of Golden West at the height of the mortgage bubble, Wachovia was an excellent franchise.

The terms of that revamped proposal weren't clear and were delivered before Wells Fargo's surprise offer on Thursday night.

Mr. Bernanke and his wife filed a police report when the purse was stolen and alerted Wachovia and the credit-card companies.

Lawyers said the clause appears to defang the exclusivity pact between Wachovia and Citigroup.

Shares of Wachovia slumped early and ended down 27% as investors looked at it has the potential next victim in the credit crunch.

Wachovia still has mortgage lending offices in 18 U. S. states, and offers home loan services by phone, Internet and direct mail, he said.

The wrangling followed a Saturday night ruling by a state-court judge that extended the expiration of Citigroup's agreement until Friday.

That pact restricted Wachovia from entering into merger discussions with any other bank.

Wells puts its relative capital paucity down to "purchase" accounting at the time of the Wachovia deal.

Wachovia has shifted its focus to finding a buyer as its shares have fallen and the cost of its credit insurance has soared.

Wells benefited from its merger with Wachovia and a short-lived mortgage-refinancing boom.

"This report certainly gives the Fed a sense of relief, " said Mark Vitner, an economist at Wachovia Corp in Charlotte, North Carolina.

That effort could result in essentially carving up the Charlotte, N. C. , bank between its two suitors, these people said.

The lead banker, as it happened, was Wachovia, whose own problems have since forced it to sell itself to Wells Fargo.

'We have no say in it, ' one person close to Wachovia said.

Had it not bought Wachovia, Wells would be one of finance's clear winners.

"We call it the yo-yo environment, " says Robert Reid, who heads Wachovia's retirement group, "You're On Your Own" .

Of course, there is no getting around the disastrous Golden West Financial acquisition of 2006.

No wonder credit markets are still taking a dim view of the bank.

Then several of her friends who worked at Wachovia Corp. lost their jobs.

A key issue in the unfolding legal fight between the three banks is an 'exclusivity agreement' between Citigroup and Wachovia.

At the hearing, regulators defended allowing Lehman Brothers to collapse and justified supporting the purchase of Wachovia.

Chase, Wachovia and Bank of America were among the most popular targets with scammers, it said.

Those discussions were still in play Thursday, including talks with Wachovia Corp. , and an investment arm of the Chinese government.

It thought it had solved the problem with a deal to buy Wachovia, a Charlotte-based bank with a big branch network.

Its boss, John Mack, reportedly held talks with several possible partners, including Wachovia, a commercial bank, and Citic of China.

And much of the losses stemmed not from trading but fromstraightforward bad lending (think of Washington Mutual, Wachovia andHBOS).

The firm also represented Wachovia and Washington Mutual before both banks were swallowed up by their brethren.

This, in a nutshell, brought about Monday's collapse of Wachovia and Glitnir Bank in Iceland.

Or, as Wachovia economists titled their report on yesterday's actions, "Speak Loudly and Carry a Small Stick. "

Lots of commercial banks also blundered on risky mortgages, including Citigroup Inc. , UBS AG and Wachovia.

Its shares lost a third of their value at midday in New York, while the cost of protecting against a default surged.

Wachovia's leverage ratio, by contrast, is less than half that.

Now the Wells-Wachovia combination offers an alternative to Wall Street fully compatible with Dodd-Frank.

Major banks including Bank of America, Wachovia and Wells Fargo soon followed with cuts in their prime rate.

The report is unlikely to affect the refinancing of Hicks and George Gillett's LFC loan with Wachovia and the Royal Bank of Scotland.

As The Economist went to press, Wachovia, an American bank, and Citic of China were among the names in the frame.

And on Monday Citigroup agreed to buy most of the assets of Wachovia, another beleaguered American bank, in a deal brokered by regulators.

But, thanks to the uncertain economy and concerns about Wachovia, doubts linger.

Wells Fargo has written its portfolio (largely inherited from the acquisition of Wachovia) down to around 70 cents on the dollar.

After absorbing Wachovia, Wells would become the largest US retail bank, with nearly $700bn in deposits.

On Saturday morning, Citigroup executives sent a blueprint based on the Wachovia structure to government officials.

Still, Wachovia sought to overturn the restraining order.

Wachovia, for example, has developed a programme to help customers with at least $250, 000 in savings.

But Wachovia also brings credit problems that could take years to resolve.

Major banks like Citigroup and Wachovia have special departments to guide women with their finances.

Wachovia said it has already cut 2, 000 retail mortgage jobs and plans to eliminate 4, 400 more in the next year.

"There are signs that the [Chinese] stimulus measures are starting to pay off, " said Jay Bryson at Wachovia.

His 2008 disclosure did list a saving account with Wachovia valued at less than $1, 000.

Wachovia's $125bn of outstanding bonds were trading at about half their par value, according to traders.

Wachovia changed that. It brings opportunities, but also risks.

Wachovia shares were off 10 per cent in midday trade.

Wachovia expects $525 million to $650 million of restructuring costs for the job cuts.

The Blackhawks and Flyers face off in Game 3 at the Wachovia Center June 2.

Its annual net profit of $12. 3 billion was a record for the company, which took over Wachovia in 2008.

In 2007, he had checking and money-market accounts with Wachovia Corp. , which was bought by Wells Fargo Corp. last year.

Wachovia Bank and Trust Company NA