Wachovia Corp

Wachovia Securities has been fined $2 million and ordered to pay restitution to more than 1,300 customers for charging excessive fees in its fee-based brokerage accounts, regulators said Thursday. NASD, the securities industry's self-regulatory organization, said the Richmond, Va.-based unit of Wachovia Corp. charged inappropriate fees to some customers for maintaining accounts, even though they did not conduct any trades.

Bank One Corp. agreed to buy Wachovia Corp.'s $8-billion credit card portfolio, making the bank's First USA Inc. unit the No. 2 card issuer behind Citigroup Inc. Bank One didn't disclose the purchase price of the portfolio, which has about 2.8 million customer accounts. Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said he expects a cost savings of $100 million from the deal. He didn't say how many of Wachovia's 1,400 credit card employees would be offered jobs.

The Federal Reserve on Sunday approved Wells Fargo's $11.7-billion acquisition of Wachovia Corp., removing the deal's last major regulatory hurdle. The Fed's move comes after federal antitrust regulators also moved swiftly to back San Francisco-based Wells Fargo's deal to buy the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank, approving it on Friday. Citigroup Inc.

Wachovia Corp. plans to buy the international banking business of Union Bank of California for as much as $290 million in cash to shore up the Charlotte, N.C., financial services company's presence in several Asian cities, including New Delhi and Hanoi. The acquisition would give Wachovia control of Union Bank's relationships with 600 foreign banks plus a $2-billion loan portfolio. An undisclosed number of Union Bank's executives and employees would join Wachovia.

In a closely watched case addressing federal-state relations, a U.S. appeals court ruled that state banking officials cannot regulate the operating units of national banks. The 31-page decision Monday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit is a victory for Wachovia Corp., which had sued Connecticut Banking Commissioner John Burke. It will also benefit other national banks such as Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co.

Thank you, Mr. Greenspan. That may be what bitter shareholders of banking giant Wachovia Corp. were uttering Thursday, after the company warned that current-quarter earnings would be lower than expected--in part because of increasing numbers of bad loans in a slowing economy. Ditto for shareholders of UnionBanCal, the San Francisco-based holding company for Union Bank. The firm said late Thursday that its bad loans, too, are increasing and will hurt earnings near term. Winston-Salem, N.C.

First Alliance Corp. customers who claim Prudential Financial Inc. and Wachovia Corp.'s First Union helped the mortgage lender deceive them must add more specifics to their lawsuit, a federal judge ruled Monday. At a hearing in Santa Ana, Judge David O. Carter told the plaintiff's attorney, Richard Scruggs, to submit a new complaint that details how the First Alliance mortgage customers learned of the fraud they claim was committed by Prudential and First Union.

Wachovia Corp. posted a 10% decline in third-quarter profit Friday, missing forecasts, as it suffered $1.3 billion of write-downs resulting from credit market turmoil. The drop was the first in six years for the fourth-largest U.S. bank. It concluded a dismal week for earnings at large U.S. banks, which have been battered by mounting consumer loan losses as the housing market slumps, and sinking investor demand for mortgages and other debt. Profit fell 57% at Citigroup Inc.

Citigroup Inc. said Friday that its second-quarter profit rose 18% on strong overseas operations that led to record revenue for the biggest U.S. bank. Rival Wachovia Corp. also posted a double-digit profit jump for the quarter, but both banks saw their shares decline as they padded their provisions for loans that go sour -- a move many other banks have made as they gird themselves for a shakier credit environment. New York-based Citigroup's net income rose to $6.23 billion, or $1.

Wells Fargo & Co. posted a record third-quarter profit by limiting loan defaults and wringing costs from Wachovia Corp. The quarter included gains from hedging, leading analysts to question whether the profit would continue, and the stock dropped 5.1%. Net income almost doubled to $3.24 billion, or 56 cents a share, from $1.64 billion, or 49 cents, a year earlier, the San Francisco bank said. Wells Fargo has been trying to quell doubts about potential losses on Wachovia's home loans and the company's concentration in California, where home prices fell 17% in the 12 months that ended in August.