Wells Fargo

Curious if anyone has heard anything regarding WB's full time offers to summers?

Seems like it's not all bad news. Although you might have thought i-banking was totally effed recently, you might want to check out this Clusterstock find in the Winston Salem Journal. Looks like the 'advising banks on how to buy each other' sector is really hitting it big. I guess that's not really a sustainable sector, but still, you gotta find opportunities where they lie.

Wells Fargo Chairman Dick Kovacevich was interviewed in businessweek, and I’m not really sure how I feel about his responses. He mentioned his belief that the bottom is near, and fast approaching (duh), and how WFC is not looking at any new acquisitions for the time being. But I thought his response to the government bailout was wishy washy at best. Seemed to be talking in circles if you ask me.

I know when you’re up at the top you have to forever be the diplomat, but I was disappointed in his runaround. What do you guys think about it?

Kovacevich Interview

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ahAwN2oFtZZA&refer=h...

From reading the article it looks like Wells Fargo won't bother to dabble in the investment banking industry. Just means more bloodletting on the street.

$60 billion in damages. Thats more than the merger itself.

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/citi-withdraws-from-wells-f...

Citigroup said late Thursday that it will not try to block a merger between Wachovia and Wells Fargo, but that it would continue to seek $60 billion in legal damages after the Charlotte-based bank spurned a $2.2 billion deal proffered by Citigroup at the government’s behest.

In a lawsuit filed in New York state court on Monday — but put on hold because of the now recently ended discussions — Citigroup said that it was seeking at least $60 billion in compensatory and punitive damages.

In the wake of today’s announcement that Wells Fargo is buying Wachovia, it seems that Citibank is in quite a tizzy. Citi had entered into an agreement to buy portions of Wachovia, and they’re pretty pissed off that Wachovia backed out at the last minute, apparently to take the better deal with WFC. In fact, they’re even threatening legal action, stating a “Breach of Exclusivity Agreement”. Not sure if there is anything truly actionable here, or if they’ll really move forward with a lawsuit, but honestly Citibank is kind of looking like a brat who didn’t get their way, demanding that the two firms terminate their merger immediately. And to boot, the FDIC is backing them. Anybody who says the world of finance is boring is off their rocker. There’s more drama here than on the Lifetime network.

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/03/wells-fargo-to-merge-with-w...

Wells Fargo said early Friday that it would merge with Wachovia — including the troubled Charlotte bank’s banking operations — in a $15.1 billion all-stock merger.

The announcement comes only four days after Citigroup agreed to buy Wachovia’s retail banking operations for about $1 a share, at the government’s behest and with its help. That deal would have left Wachovia with only its securities and retail brokerage.

Wells Fargo, based in San Francisco and considered one of the strongest banks amid the market turmoil, said that the deal requires no assistance from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. It will raise up to $20 billion by issuing new shares, primarily common stock.