Wachovia Corp

Wachovia Corp., the fourth-largest U.S. bank, will stop making mortgage loans through its own branch offices in 19 states, as the fallout from its 2006 acquisition of Northern California's Golden West Financial Corp. persists. The bank will cut 125 jobs as part of the move, spokesman Don Vecchiarello said Friday. The Charlotte, N.C., company, which ranked seventh among U.S. home lenders last year, still offers mortgages nationwide through Internet, telephone and direct-mail service.

As ailing Wachovia Corp. waits to see whether it will be acquired by Wells Fargo & Co. or Citigroup Inc. -- possibly with taxpayers paying the tab for hundreds of billions of dollars in bad loans -- some of the company's top brokers are preparing to depart Saturday for an all-expenses-paid cruise of the Greek Isles. The weeklong trip for up to 75 employees of brokerage A.G.

Wachovia Corp. may open 200 branches in Southern California in the next five years after gaining a foothold in the market with its purchase of Westcorp, Vice Chairman Ben Jenkins said Friday. Jenkins, who also heads the bank's retail and business banking unit, said he was reviewing a possible expansion in the region this year and probably would not start building until 2007. Charlotte, N.C.

Wachovia Corp. will pay $25 million to end a 28-month probe involving accusations of potential conflicts of interest between its stock analysts and investment banking business. The settlement with the bank's Wachovia Capital Markets unit was announced Wednesday by the North American Securities Administrators Assn., a group of state regulators. It is related to the settlement in 2003 and 2004 by 12 other banks with state and federal regulators, led by New York Atty. Gen.

Wachovia Corp. reported a 13% increase in third-quarter earnings Monday on gains in business and automobile lending, but its stock fell on weak revenue and worries over its $24-billion purchase of Oakland mortgage lender Golden West Financial Corp., the parent of World Savings. Charlotte, N.C.-based Wachovia, the fourth-largest U.S. bank, said profit was $1.88 billion, or $1.17 a share, up from $1.67 billion, or $1.06, a year earlier. Revenue climbed to $7.04 billion from $6.

Wachovia Corp., a financial powerhouse east of the Mississippi River, is launching a major campaign to capture market share in California, lured like so many other banks by the state's huge population and growing economy. The Charlotte, N.C.-based bank isn't exactly a stranger here. In recent years, it has purchased institutional brokerage Metropolitan West Securities in Brentwood, Irvine-based auto lender Westcorp and San Diego's AmNet Mortgage Inc.

Hewlett-Packard Co. said Friday that it had named Wachovia Corp.'s chief executive to its board, filling one of the vacancies created by the computer and printer maker's board leak scandal that prompted the departure of three directors. Separately, HP said Securities and Exchange Commission regulators had elevated an investigation into the company's probe of boardroom leaks. Ken Thompson is the ninth member of HP's board of directors and its seventh outside director, the company said.

Irvine-based finance company Westcorp Inc. on Monday agreed to a $3.9-billion takeover by banking giant Wachovia Corp., in a stock-swap deal that would make Wachovia a national player in the auto-loan business and give it an initial foothold in the California bank market. A deal between the two firms had been rumored for weeks. Charlotte, N.C.-based Wachovia, the fourth-largest U.S.

Wachovia Corp., the No. 4 U.S. bank, said its retail brokerage was being investigated over payments from mutual fund companies, and its broker-dealer unit might face charges over alleged conflicts between stock research and investment banking. The Charlotte, N.C.-based company said the Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating how well the brokerage, Wachovia Securities, disclosed revenue-sharing arrangements with fund companies.

Wachovia Corp. is buying competitor SouthTrust Corp. in a $14.3-billion deal that would make it the biggest bank in the Southeast. Wachovia said it planned to close 130 to 150 branch offices and eliminate about 4,300 jobs after the merger, announced Monday, is completed. Many of the job cuts would be done through attrition, said Ken Thompson, Wachovia's chief executive, chairman and president.