[SouthParkGuy]

Charlotte seemed atleast for now to have benefitted from the collapse of lehman and the acquistion of ML.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/112/story/195505.html

[initiald]

Yeah, I wouldn't brag about it too much. The future of Wachovia still isn't certain.

[Zodiac1]

^ Yeah i second that but sometimes bigger isnt always better.

[KB0679]

If this mess hasn't taught us anything else, it should have at least taught us something about diversification.

[Atlbanker]

Well, after the news on Wachovia this AM, I am sure many in Charlotte are not feeling too well today.

[neilson]

Yeah, I wouldn't brag about it too much. The future of Wachovia still isn't certain.
Wachovia as we know it is gone.

Wachovia collapse + still not enough gas in Charlotte-Mecklenburg = Tough times for the Queen City.

If you take away fuel and you take away one of the largest companies in the metro area, then you begin to see things unravel.

[initiald]

The deal really ended up being one of the best case scenarios for Wachovia, as opposed to the company being taken over by the FDCI, for example.

"Wachovia Corp. will remain headquartered in Charlotte, N.C. Wachovia Securities will continue to be headquartered in St. Louis, MO. Citigroup will headquarter the retail bank in Charlotte and the investment bank in New York."

Charlotte kind of broke even on this deal. While there will be some job cuts, and Wachovia's planned condo tower canned, overall it won't be as severe as many predicted.

[neilson]

You guys got lucky then. Damn lucky.

[g-man435]

Charlotte seemed atleast for now to have benefitted from the collapse of lehman and the acquistion of ML.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/112/story/195505.html

I wouldn't exactly use the term "benefit" to describe Charlotte once this whole deal is done: http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/stories/2008/09/29/daily10.html The AP is reporting that the Queen City could lose 5,000 jobs from this whole mess. :(

[initiald]

Yeah, but that was what people were expecting. What we were afraid of was the feds having to step in and take over Wachovia. At least this way the Wachovia brand will survive.

"Chief Executive Vikram Pandit says he intends to maintain a “strong presence” in Charlotte now that the company has agreed to buy the banking assets of Wachovia Corp. for $2.1 billion. Pandit says he intends to fold Citi’s retail banking operations into Wachovia’s and base that business here.

Citi’s retail bank is about one-third the size of Wachovia’s.

“We believe it is essential that we maintain a strong presence in Charlotte, North Carolina,” Pandit said during a conference call with analysts Monday morning."

Not a lot has been mentioned on this yet, but Winston-Salem could be hit hard. WS was the original home of Wachovia until First Union bought it, and it is still the main location for their wealth management division.

[DallasTexan]

RIP First Union.

Cue the Price is Right losing horn...

[KB0679]

I think we kinda broke even. One big bank took over another one, and another got taken over but will still have a sizable presence here.

[10101000]

RIP Wachovia, Citi at its best.

[ad hoc]

thinking about moving to charlotte to get away from the cold winters here. what's in the short-term horizon for charlotte after all this? bad idea to move there now? i'm not in banking but surely there will be spillover effects...

[Zodiac1]

Well at least the wachovia blding is still being built uptown and looks good. wish I had some pics to post on here!

[Matthew]

First Union tells Winston-Salem, the new Wachovia will maintain a "strong presence" in downtown Winston-Salem. 36.5% of the jobs were cut, a signature building, with palm trees and a huge atrium, by famous architect Pickard Chilton was completely abandoned by the bank and sold. It is currently the Republic Insurance Building and is fully leased. If Citigroup maintains the same strong presence in Charlotte the new Wachovia maintained in Winston-Salem, expect 7,300 job cuts from Wachovia and 3,650 jobs lost at companies dependent on the Wachovia headquarters. Also expect 2 million square feet of vacant office space, at a minimum. Bud Baker is an outcast in Winston-Salem and those involved in the Charlotte downfall will become outcasts in Charlotte. Since his retirement, Baker is never asked to do anything for the city, though he lives in the city's historic Buena Vista district and was among the nation's highest paid CEOs, while at Wachovia. I think Old Salem finally asked for his help (temporary President position) a year or two ago and he spoke on being an outcast in his own city. We should also remember Wachovia in Winston-Salem was the most generous to local charities and arts groups. Wachovia in Charlotte was also the most generous to charities, arts groups and sports events. It is sad to see this happen to Charlotte. I wanted a Major League Baseball team in Charlotte, before something happened to one of the banks. I guess that won't happen now. The impact will be felt from families moving away, those trying to find a job, arts groups struggling to find money, fewer events and more. :(

[KB0679]

How Charlotte weathers this storm will be dependent on how fast new jobs can be created to replace lost ones and how the phasing out of jobs will take place.

[Zodiac1]

Wells Fargo anyone?????

[Somebody]

Wells Fargo anyone?????

Not so fast, the court seems to have something to say about this.

[Zodiac1]

^^^ Its complete drama!!!!

[alon504]

Any time you have consolidation you run the risk of losing 1000's of jobs--most of them high paying, unfortunately. The nation is in a serious financial crisis--all one has to do is look at the stock market. Unfortunately, those cities that are financial centers will suffer the most when it comes to massive job losses. It is a difficult and sad time. Not only will this hurt Charlotte greatly in the next year, but, you have to think about the actual individuals who will find themselves unemployed.

[10101000]

This will not kill Charlotte, this will help Charlotte to recover its losses from Wachovia, trust me I know. I am a banker.

[coyotetrickster]

Charlotte seemed atleast for now to have benefitted from the collapse of lehman and the acquistion of ML.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/112/story/195505.html

Wow, how a few weeks can change a topic thread headline. Looks like the stagecoach gets to drive down Tryon St.

[Matthew]

No one is talking about this, but is Bank of America having problems? Their shares are trading at low prices, the dividend was cut in half and Ken Lewis has spoken on problems with their small business lending.

[DallasTexan]

Bank of America will not be allowed to fail.

[Matthew]

When these "too big to fail" companies receive government money they are forced to sell-off pieces of the company to repay the loan. The result is a smaller company and maybe leadership from outside the company taking over.