Say NO to Wachovia sale

Those of us that live in Charlotte, NC know Wachovia Bank to be a centerpiece of this fine state, along with all of North Carolina. As a result of the financial crunch, Wachovia was forced into a company sale to Wells Fargo. While this deal is certainly better than the Citigroup offer (around $2 billion), which was highway robbery forced on the bank by the FDIC, the Wells offer is certainly not a good value for Wachovia Shareholders, employees, or the city that the bank calls home.

Wachovia is a fine, stable bank that has gone through the same issues as every other bank in the US. Its only crime is that it hit the wall before the bail out plan was passed (about 1 week earlier). At that time, the government virtually forced the bank into a very bad deal with Citi under threat of shutdown.

Within a week, Wachovia had also negotiated a separate deal with Wells Fargo, that while better, is not a good value. State Treasurer Richard Moore called the offer "highway robbery" and is encouraging shareholders and citizens to contact Wachovia and the NC Business Court judge to not approve the deal.

With the TARP now in place, Wachovia has the same opportunity to leverage taxpayer support and remain independent as every other bank in the US. The fundamentals of the bank oare strong and it is one of the largest retail banking outlets in the US. In addition, Wachovia employees 10's of thousands of people in Charlotte alone, many of whom will lose their jobs.

Charlotte has a reputation as the "banking capital of the South" for a reason. With both Wachovia and Bank of America headquartered here, a steady, stable business climate makes Charlotte and excellent place to live and raise a family. This acquisition will be severely harmful to the Charlotte (and NC) economy.