$24 BILLION!!!
And the money quote from CEO Robert K. Steel:
"Although this has been a challenging quarter, Wachovia's underlying businesses remain solid and our franchise exceptionally attractive."
Obviously, suitor Well Fargo is trying to get them to write everything down - to *market value* before the merger closes for accounting reasons.
But this just shows y'all how ugly the banks' books really are when marked-to-reality.
I am sure Wells Fargo thinks that Wachovia's problems are *contained* in the toxic junk they bought with the Golden West Financial merger.
I would bet they ain't. Look for Well Fargo to end up losing a ton of money on Wachovia's other businesses and other, traditional mortgage book.
This is no time for a bank to be increasing its balance sheet.
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