jack writes: CNN is reporting that Wachovia is merging with First Union. As you may recall, Wachovia was still foundering a bit from indigestion encountered on swallowing up Charlottesville’s own Jefferson National Bank and other banks like it. The new company will be called Wachovia Corp.
Wachovia has a number of facilities in Charlottesville and is an employer not to be sniffed at. The merger is being billed as one of equals (9 board members from each company), but any time you have a union on this scale you have to expect a certain amount of scrutiny by each corporation into the operations of the other. Risky loans might be sold, management methods may change. Most significantly for Charlottesville, redundancy is eliminated. Will regional headquarters for what were once two seperate banks be consolidated into one? Which will dominate? Charlottesville could be looking at an increase in Wachovia’s presence, with a corrosponding increase in employment, tax base and commercial real estate values. Or, we may get the axe in favor of a First Union facility out of town. Time (and an ear to the ground) will tell. Yeah, what he said. Read on for more.
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