Wachovia Corp

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.

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.

Golden West Financial Corp. shareholders approved the company's sale to Wachovia Corp. on Thursday, moving a step closer to ending the 43-year reign of the savings and loan's folksy co-chief executives, Herb and Marion Sandler -- the only married couple running a Fortune 500 business.

Wachovia Corp., which is acquiring Golden West Financial Corp. in a $25.5-billion deal, plans to set up its new Western region headquarters in Golden West's home city of Oakland. The deal is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter and would give Charlotte-based Wachovia its first major West Coast foothold. Wachovia, the nation's fourth-largest bank, has yet to name an executive to head the western region, which will also include Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and Illinois.

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. Chief Executive G. Kennedy Thompson on Wednesday said the bank planned no more big acquisitions for a "significant" amount of time as it digested California's Golden West Financial Corp., which it agreed to buy in May for $25.5 billion. The purchase, Thompson's largest as CEO, has sparked criticism from investors unsure of Wachovia's ability to integrate the No. 2 U.S. thrift and benefit from Golden West's specialty, adjustable-rate mortgages, as home lending cools.

Wachovia Corp.'s $24.2-billion purchase of Oakland's Golden West Financial Corp. is the latest in a string of California acquisitions by big banks hoping to tap into the state's growing population and vibrant entrepreneurial economy. Wells Fargo & Co.'s stagecoach dates to the Gold Rush era, but the San Francisco bank has been driven by executives from the Midwest since 1998, when Minneapolis-based Norwest Corp. took it over, keeping the iconic name and logo.

Golden West Financial Corp., one of the last major savings and loans in California, agreed Sunday to be acquired by North Carolina-based Wachovia Corp., the nation's fourth-largest bank, for $25.5 billion in cash and stock. The acquisition of Oakland-based Golden West, the country's second-largest S&L, would add more than 280 branches in 10 states and give Wachovia a much larger presence in the West. Golden West shareholders would receive 1.051 Wachovia shares and $18.65 in cash, or $81.

Citigroup Inc. and other large U.S. banks posted higher first-quarter profits on Monday as strength in investment banking and trading offset slowing growth in consumer banking. East West Bancorp, a large community bank based in Pasadena, said earnings rose 36%, beating Wall Street expectations. Profit rose 4% at Citigroup, the largest U.S. bank. Wachovia Corp., the No. 4 bank, posted a 7% increase, its slowest growth rate in five years. SunTrust Banks Inc., the No.

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.