Market Currents

• Monday, March 16, 2009

• 08:17 AM FT reports Goldman (GS) was in talks to buy Wachovia (WB) the weekend after Lehman collapsed in September. Talks reportedly failed when the government was unwilling to protect Goldman against losses on Wachovia's giant loan portfolio. 3 Comments

• Thursday, January 1, 2009

• 15:37 PM Meanwhile, Wells Fargo (WFC) completes its $12.7B acquisition of Wachovia (WB). Wachovia's $482.4B loan portfolio could stick WFC with $60B in losses in coming years, mostly from adjustable-rate mortgages. Comment!

• Wednesday, December 24, 2008

• 06:44 AM 76% of Wachovia (WB) shareholders voted in favor of the bank's sale to Wells Fargo (WFC). Wachovia CEO Robert Steel will take a seat on Wells' board as of January 1, along with three other Wachovia directors. Comment!

• Wednesday, December 10, 2008

• 14:07 PM “We are seeing more sales and more bids” on for-sale properties, Wells Fargo (WFC) CEO John Stumpf says, though he personally thinks things will still get worse - and continues to expect heavy losses on Wachovia's (WB) commercial real estate loan portfolio once WFC completes its acquisition. Comment!

• Tuesday, December 9, 2008

• 09:18 AM Wachovia (WB) CEO Bob Steel forgoes his bonus. Unlike his peers, Steel's been in academics since 2004 (he joined WB in July). The bonus would have been his first. 4 Comments

• Thursday, December 4, 2008

• 14:18 PM Prudential (PRU +9.5%) says at its annual investor day (webcast) it will sell its $5B minority stake in Wachovia's (WB +3.7%) brokerage unit to Wells Fargo (WFC +3.1%), which is buying WB, netting a $1.7B gain. PRU also notes the Treasury hasn't yet responded to its request for TARP funds. 1 Comment

• Tuesday, December 2, 2008

• 09:03 AM Premarket gainers: MRX +17%. GFI +17%. TS +11%. GOLD +11%. LIZ +10%. AU +10%. HMY +10%. GM +8.5%. WB +8%. MT +9%. F +8%. MTL +8%. C +7%. S +7%. KB +6.5%. RIO +6%. LVS +6%. DB +5%. AUY +5%. JAVA +5%. ALU +5%. BP +5%. ESLR +5%. ERIC +5%. HIG +5%. Comment!

• Tuesday, November 25, 2008

• 07:59 AM Wachovia (WB) lost $33B in the last two quarters, but ten top execs could receive $98.1M in severance pay once Wells Fargo (WFC) acquires the bank. A WB spokesman said the actual figure should be lower since some of the execs are moving to Wells. 1 Comment

• Thursday, November 20, 2008

• 07:26 AM Regulators investigate whether Golden West Financial, the lender Wachovia (WB) bought in 2006, fraudulently pushed expensive loans or altered loan paperwork. The probe will also check to what degree loan defaults were monitored and disclosed. Comment!

• Monday, November 10, 2008

• 06:48 AM Citigroup (C) is in talks to acquire an undisclosed U.S. regional bank and could close the deal by the end of the month. A successful acquisition would take some pressure off CEO Vikram Pandit after last month's Wachovia (WB) debacle. Comment!

• Thursday, November 6, 2008

• 09:30 AM Wells Fargo (WFC) will offer $10B of common stock to the public. The bank is looking to raise up to $20B to finance its purchase of Wachovia (WB). Shares: WFC -5.8%. WB -3.7%. Comment!

• Wednesday, October 22, 2008

• 07:35 AM Wachovia (WB): Q3 EPS of -$11.89 misses by $11.91. CEO Robert Steel called the quarter "challenging," but said "underlying businesses remain solid and our franchise exceptionally attractive." Shares -2.0% pre-market. [PR] Comment!
• 00:05 AM Notable earnings before Wednesday's open: ABFS, ABI, APD, ARW, ATI, BA, BHI, COP, DOV, EMC, FCL, GD, GENZ, GSK, KCI, KMB, MCD, MRK, NFX, NITE, NOC, NTRS, NWA, PM, R, RAI, ROH, RYN, SEIC, T, TCB, TRV, WB, WLP, WYE Comment!

• Tuesday, October 14, 2008

• 16:00 PM The FDIC's new liquidity guarantee program will cover $1.4T in senior unsecured debt and $400-500B in transaction deposit accounts, which businesses use to meet payrolls and pay vendors. FDIC Chairman Bair says the program "definitely would have made a difference" for Wachovia (WB). Comment!

• Monday, October 13, 2008

• 05:58 AM Wells Fargo (WFC) will likely sell or downsize Wachovia's (WB) investment banking unit after acquisition. The unit employs over 6,000 people and contributed around 16% of Wachovia's revenue last year. Comment!

• Sunday, October 12, 2008

• 17:41 PM The Fed is fast-tracking Wells Fargo's (WFC) $15.1B acquisition of Wachovia (WB), which could be consummated within five days. Wachovia will forego a shareholder vote in favor of expediency. Comment!