Wachovia Layoff

Phyllis Mangina in Witness Protection Program, Costa Rica said: Ummmm ... its called satire

And that was really funny stuff

WOW! SNL? Way to go Herb and Marion!

You are correct, I laughed my a$$ off!

nasty wach in florida in miami, Florida said: We as loan originators heard that story too when World was merged with Wachovia. More products, blah blah blah. Ended up all being displaced. Wells will lay off a ton of people. That's the way things are going these days with the banks.

You are correct. There is no way that they (Wellchovia) can keep open all the branches and division open. Those that can be assimilated will be. Those that can not will be let go. So be it. Citigroup will hopefully keep this open for a while by blocking all and every angle this merger can be delayed through the courts. I would like to look at the big picture and discuss all the man benefits that we may be able to tab into during a Wellschovia joint. However, I must just think about my family and hope that Citcorp keeps them bogged down until after x-mas. My children, you see, do not care or know about mergers and bailouts. They are depending on a man with a white beard and gifts. Good luck to all of us and may we last as long as can be. In the interim, may we land a job that allows us the feeling of payback every time we take a Wellschovia future client/victim away from them. Many of us, this has happened before, for some this is new. Lets keep one thing in mind. We are at the bottom of the hill. Mr. Steel will take a dump and it will hit us all. Yes, it may pick up some steam via Wells or Citcorp, but it will hit US. I understand perfectly, I am nothing more than a moronic TOOL used as a simple spoke on the wheel called freedom, or "capitalism". Wave the American Flag, shout out one line slogans, and bleed for your country. We are but a sh*& eating grinning bunch of buffoons that bought into the promise. No crime there. Just sit back get as many unemployment checks as possible, and enjoy the front row seats to hypocrisy, cronyism, and corporate welfare imaginable. I shall enjoy the Pubs, the long lunches and the European socialistic drive.

I guess Mr. Steel is looking good in front of his board huh? Bidding war? Nice. I guess I could go over some basic information regarding takeovers and the bidding game. I could even go into the fact that we are dealing with value based on paper. Quite frankly, that all of a sudden has really board me. I would just simple like to say that if you joined a financial institution seeking job security, the joke in on you/me. There is really not much more to add to this forum. If I get too informative or try and help those that are lost, I open myself to ridicule. I am at the bottom of the totem pole, and I will pay the price again for not selling out by beliefs. What are those beliefs? Not really sure anymore. I plan to hang on as long as possible, get unemployment after that (guilt free) I have paid my share of taxes, I will probably go to a competitor for a while and allow the past to repeat itself. We live in a corporate welfare society. "TOO BIG TO FAIL" what a complete lie. I am sure there are other blogs and forums explaining the fallacy of our entire system. If you were fortunate enough to be born a blue blood and attended Duke or one of the many good old boy schools, this all just a game to you. Paper loans, paper money, paper loans, issued by employees that are easier to shred than the paper they issued for loans. May those that are from the wrong side of the track like myself end up with a small lean faithful firm that bases it business model on people rather than the return given to shareholders. I know I sound bitter, but I really am not. I have finally just given in to the man that controls the gold. A few dozen white men actually do control the world. (I always thought that was just a crutch)Just investigate the synthesis between public and private business and realize that corporate welfare is for the blue bloods. I am not jealous, I am just awaken. May Wachovia get cocky enough after the government bailout to walk it alone.What a great explosion.

Presley Elvis in Memphis, Tennessee said: I do a mean Elvis.

Serious question for you....did you dress up as Elvis for Halloween?

money.aol.com/news/articles/_a/bbdp/court-tilts-wachovia-fight-toward-wells/200760

Ex-CEO of S&L bought by Wachovia defends record

www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/10/05/ap55 10615.html

Once hailed for running their savings-and-loan company like an endearing mom-and-pop shop, Herb and Marion Sandler are now being vilified as ruthless home lenders who helped destroy Wachovia Corp. and contributed to the financial decay that led to the U.S. government's $700 billion rescue plan to buy rotten mortgages.

After deflecting the media for months, Herb Sandler defended his lending record in an interview Sunday. He also tried to make a case for why Wachovia is worth substantially more than the $14.8 billion that Wells Fargo & Co. has offered for the company.

Sandler, 77, spoke to The Associated Press in the San Francisco office of his family's charitable foundation the morning after NBC's "Saturday Night Live" broadcast a skit deriding the Sandlers as predatory lenders who had duped unsophisticated borrowers and Wachovia, too. A caption shown during the sketch skewered the Sandlers as "people who should be shot."

Although the timing of the interview was coincidental, Sandler was seething after watching a replay of the skit on the Internet.

"I have been listening to this crap for two years," Sandler said. "We are being unfairly tarred. People have been telling us to speak out for some time, but we didn't think it was appropriate. That was clearly a mistake."

The public ridicule represents a 180-degree turn for the Sandlers, who were considered to be the voices of reason while they steered Golden West Financial Corp. and its subsidiary, World Savings, through a period of financial recklessness that led to the failure of thousands of other S&Ls in the 1980s and 1990s.

Golden West never strayed from its staid lending approach while the Sandlers scolded others for their risky investments in commercial real estate and exotic business ventures.

Herb Sandler agrees with his critics on one point: He and Marion, who were Golden West's co-chief executives for more than 40 years, couldn't have picked a better time to sell the company than when they closed their $24.3 billion deal with Wachovia in October 2006.

After years of double-digit increase, home prices began to crumble once Wachovia took over, and now the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank is in such deep trouble that it has agreed to be sold to Wells Fargo for just $7 per share - nearly 90 percent below the company's stock price at the time of the Golden West takeover.

Citigroup Inc. is fighting in court to enforce an earlier agreement that would allow it to buy Wachovia's banking operations for $2.1 billion, or $1 per share.

The Sandlers were the biggest winners in the Golden West sale, collecting Wachovia stock that was worth more than $2 billion when the deal closed. More than $1 billion of the stock was used to fund the couple's charitable foundation. Herb declined to say how much of the stock the couple still owns, saying only they still have enough shares to care what happens to Wachovia.

Sandler maintains that Wachovia's mortgage problems aren't as severe as they might seem, especially now that the federal government is prepared to take some of the deteriorating mortgages off lenders' books.

Once the clean-up work is complete, Sandler believes Wachovia will be worth $60 billion to $100 billion. Although he thinks Wells should have been pressured to pay more, Sandler says it's preferable to the Citigroup bid, which was negotiated with the help of federal regulators. He doubts Wells or any other bidder will up the ante for Wachovia because of the turmoil in financial markets.

More than anything else, Sandler wants to burnish his and his wife's legacy.

Taking advantage of regulations passed in 1981, World Savings had thrived for decades by specializing in adjustable rate mortgages that gave borrowers the option of deferring the interest due on their monthly payments. These so-called option-ARMs have been widely derided for driving up the amount that borrowers owed on their loans, ultimately saddling them with payments that they can't afford.

But Sandler contends the troubles cropping up in World's option-ARM, or "pick-a-pay," portfolio haven't been severe enough to drag down Wachovia. The bank has charged off about $850 million of the $122 billion pick-a-pay portfolio so far, but the bank's management has indicated the losses could rise to $12 billion.

If Wells Fargo prevails in its effort to buy Wachovia, it intends to take a $32 billion hit on the pick-a-pay portfolio - an action that implies the loans, on average, are only worth 74 cents on the dollar.

Sandler contends the loss projections are grossly exaggerated and rely on improbable Depression-era assumptions about the U.S. economy. He doubts the losses on World's former mortgage portfolio will rise above $10 billion, largely because none of the loans were made to borrowers with shoddy, or "subprime," credit records.

Sandler said World's pick-a-pay loans were made under the same qualifying standards that had been in effect during the previous 25 years when the savings and loan's losses were among the lowest in the industry and the Sandlers were consistently praised for their prudence.

"We had a great track record for 40 years," Sandler said. "If this product was so dangerous, how could that be? There is something anomalous about that, isn't there?"

Phyllis Mangina in Witness Protection Program, Costa Rica said: Sandler said World's pick-a-pay loans were made under the same qualifying standards that had been in effect during the previous 25 years when the savings and loan's losses were among the lowest in the industry and the Sandlers were consistently praised for their prudence.

"We had a great track record for 40 years," Sandler said. "If this product was so dangerous, how could that be? There is something anomalous about that, isn't there?"

JMO but I thought it was really odd that the Sandlers were on SNL. I mean, not too many people are aware of exactly who they are. They're not what you call household names and the skit's facts were erroneous. It seems that someone is hell bent on blaming Wachovia's woes on Goldenwest.

Wachovia is surely afraid of something, but it ain't the Pick a Pay. It's probably the commercial loan portfolio and the majority of their loan portfolio are their OWN loans. What about all those 100% loans they did. A ton of people got those. GDW pretty much only did 80% loans.

nasty wach in florida in miami, Florida said: JMO but I thought it was really odd that the Sandlers were on SNL. I mean, not too many people are aware of exactly who they are. They're not what you call household names and the skit's facts were erroneous. It seems that someone is hell bent on blaming Wachovia's woes on Goldenwest.

It was satire, but World is certainly an easy target. Wachovia is the pool of laughs that just keeps giving though. Just when you think they're done, they go out and top their most recent sad pathetic joke. You simply can't make their stuff up. And btw, the SNL bit made Wachovia look like Chumps, which of course we knew all along. I'm still laughing.

SNL on NBC

Cramer, Gasparino, Kudlow, Maria on CNBC

CNBC, NBC = GE

And ... The Bill O and Rush tools parrot about the "liberal media". Last I checked GE; Viacom, controlled by Sumner Redstone, owner of CBS; and Disney owner of ABC can hardly be considered "liberal" corporations.

Affidavit Suggests Wachovia Neared Failure

online.wsj.com/article/SB12 2 32 5890 30 100 67 57.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

paints a picture of a perilous situation in which the eighth-largest U.S. bank in stock-market value was caught between competing takeover bids while facing enormous pressure from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to sell itself.

The affidavit suggests that Wachovia has come close to failing at least twice in the last week. Were the Charlotte, N.C., bank to collapse, it would rank as by far the largest failure of a federally insured bank in U.S. history.

The filing also suggests that the FDIC pushed Mr. Steel toward making a deal with Wells Fargo, based in San Francisco. Upending Wachovia's initial pact with Citigroup Inc. would let the government off the hook for its agreement to absorb certain future loan losses at Wachovia.

In the 57-page filing, Mr. Steel, a former Treasury Department undersecretary and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. executive, said the Sept. 25 failure of Washington Mutual Inc. and that week's uncertainty about the bailout legislation in Washington "resulted in significant downward pressure in the market on the price of Wachovia stock."

Wachovia, Citi, Wells Fargo 3-some?

Bob, Vikram and Dick's no-holes-barred sweaty throwdown

Fed Pushes to Resolve Wachovia Deal Dispute
Citi, Wells Fargo Discuss Carve-Up; Sparring in Court

online.wsj.com/article/SB122 32 55 30 66 550 65 27.html

In a sign that the federal government is worried about the volatile battle for Wachovia Corp., officials from the Federal Reserve were pushing for Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. to reach a compromise. The effort could result in carving up the Charlotte, N.C., bank between its two suitors, people familiar with the situation said.
Under the leading plan being discussed Sunday night, Citigroup and Wells Fargo would divvy up Wachovia's network of 3,346 branches along geographic lines, with Citigroup getting Wachovia's branches in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions and Wells Fargo taking those in the Southeast and California, according to people familiar with the talks. Wells Fargo would also take over Wachovia's asset-management and brokerage units.

Goodbye, Conservatives. Hello, Predators.

Economic conservatives—and, indeed, economics—have no place in the current GOP.

tbm.thebigmoney.com/articles/barack-obama/2008/10/05/goodbye-conservatives-hello-predators

"The fundamentals of our economy are strong."

—Sen. John McCain, Sept. 14, 2008

Real conservatives know that neither Bush nor McCain is one of them. Bush is a bread-and-circuses reactionary with a clientele of lobbies. McCain gets his economic ideas from Phil Gramm, the ultimate architect of the Enron culture, of libertine speculation and financial disaster. As for Sarah Palin, back in Alaska she took every dime of pork she could lay her hands on. This crowd deregulates and privatizes not because they think it might work out for the public but because they know it won't. What they care about is putting their friends in charge.

Under Bush, oil and gas, drug companies and defense contractors, insurers and usurers, banks and big media control the government of the United States. John McCain was a key member of the Keating Five and a lynchpin of the savings-and-loan debacle; then, as chair of the Senate commerce committee, he presided over Lobby Central; notoriously, his campaign is run by lobbyists to this day and until last week his policy could be summed up in slogans: he was a "free market" man, a "deregulator." Sarah Palin is an interesting case. What was she known for in Wasilla and Juneau? For trying to fire any public servant, from the town librarian to the state commissioner of public safety, who didn't toe her line. Bush and McCain are the predator state writ large, and she is the predator state writ small.

Ahhhhhhh ... Karma ... Wachovia and Charloote reaping what they have sown ... Slavery profits and subsequent denials, check ... Party to 2003 Mutual Fund market timing scandal, check ... Party to 2008 Auction Rate Securities scandal, check .... Bilking the Elderly, check ... Drug dealing, check ... Fraudulent financial reporting, check ... Screwing over honest, loyal employees, check ... Smearing reputations of said employees, check ... Misrepresenting financial condition in the press, check ... Destroying retirement savings of untold numbers of shareholders, check ... Casual disregard for the truth, check ... Wanton disregard in honoring contracts, check ...

.... Yep .... Karma ... Sucks don't it?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LeLAELIxKY

Also .. This just in .. It's Over

blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_flack/archive/2008/10/05/it-s-over.aspx

John McCain's candidacy is as much a casualty of Wall Street as Lehman or Merrill. Like those once vibrant institutions, McCain's collapse was stunning and quick. One minute you are a well-respected brand. The next you are yelling at the messengers of your demise as all around you the numbers start blinking red and stop adding up.

Why won't the swiftboat tactics work this year?

Its easy to lose sight of it in the day to day coverage, but the collapse of Wall Street in the last weeks was a seminal event in the history of our nation and our politics. To put the crisis in perspective, Americans have lost a combined 1 trillion dollars in net worth in just the last four weeks alone. Just as President Bush's failures in Iraq undermined his party's historic advantage on national security issues, the financial calamity has shown the ruinous implications of the Republican mania for deregulation and slavish devotion to totally unfettered markets.

And to keep things ummmm ... "fair and balanced"

Wall Street Ends McCain’s Lucky Streak

blogs.wsj.com/politicalperceptions/2008/10/05/will-wall-street-turmoil-sink-mccain-campaign/

The Republican presidential nominee had lived a charmed life during this election year.

At every stage in the campaign, when the fickle finger of fate had to point one way or another, it turned in John McCain’s direction.

This good fortune had allowed him to be a competitive candidate in a year that the lousy economy, unpopular war and even less popular Republican president should have, based on everything we know about politics, made the election an easy Democratic win.

But the recent Wall Street meltdown has done almost as much damage to Sen. McCain’s presidential prospects as it did to the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

It has both badly scared the electorate and brought the economy even more front and center in voters’ minds. Whether fairly or not, Republican polices that loosened regulation of the financial services industry are being blamed by many.

What all this means is that one should not count on breaking the law of averages. Good luck can’t last forever, or in Sen. McCain’s case, through Election Day.

Of course, one could argue that Sen. McCain is lucky that the financial crisis didn’t happen at the end of October, rather than the end of September. He has some time to recover.

But that is seeing the glass half full when it is less so.

++++

Oh and the Dow is off *only* 800 points

Wachovia is Insolvent!

www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2008/10/06/daily9.html

Suit: FDIC was ready to seize Wachovia

Federal regulators had told Wachovia Corp. the bank would be seized unless it reached a merger agreement with Citigroup Inc. or Wells Fargo & Co. by end of day Friday, Oct. 3, according to a lawsuit filed by Wachovia this weekend in federal court

• Friday, Oct. 3

The board approved the Wells deal, and after Steel executed the agreement and plan of merger early Friday morning, he and Sherburne called Kovacevich to inform him. Then, Steel, FDIC Chairman Bair and Sherburne called Citi CEO Vikram Pandit to inform him that Wachovia had a deal with Wells.

Since then, Wells has provided “ongoing financial support to Wachovia, allowing Wachovia to remain open,” the suit says.

Phila Buster in Washington, District of Columbia said: So, what brought all this racist stuff on? You having a Don Imus moment or something?

The idiots at the top of Wach are just that-idiots. There's no reason to turn the issue into a racial one. You expose yourself as a bigot, and lose credibility when you do.

Phyllis Mangina in Witness Protection Program, Costa Rica said: Oh ... I'll call them Peckerwoods then....

Can't we just all get along?

Phyllis Mangina in Witness Protection Program, Costa Rica said: Ahhhhhhh ... Karma ... Wachovia and Charloote reaping what they have sown ... Slavery profits and subsequent denials, check ... Party to 2003 Mutual Fund market timing scandal, check ... Party to 2008 Auction Rate Securities scandal, check .... Bilking the Elderly, check ... Drug dealing, check ... Fraudulent financial reporting, check ... Screwing over honest, loyal employees, check ... Smearing reputations of said employees, check ... Misrepresenting financial condition in the press, check ... Destroying retirement savings of untold numbers of shareholders, check ... Casual disregard for the truth, check ... Wanton disregard in honoring contracts, check ...

.... Yep .... Karma ... Sucks don't it?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LeLAELIxKY

LMAO, this is the pot calling the kettle bl@ck here, was not the pick a pay the most profitable loan in your portfolio? Yeah, karma got you freaks right back, taking advantage of people who can not speak English, the elderly and the list goes on and on. We are getting the real stories now on the PAP portfolio and it does not look good. PGE team is taking applications on every customer out there. I am sure the FBI will be knocking on brokers doors here in the next few years once this mess gets cleaned up.

I love the Citi 60 bl law suit,

they try and buy WB for 2.1 bl and go to sue for 60 bl,

They must be using one of the World calculators you freaks used for verifying income on applicants!

2+6=13

The fact remains that Wachovia is claiming losses well in excess of the total delinquencies in the residential (formerly World) portfolio. Wachovia scapegoated the PAP, but commercial lending at insane levels is what's at the root of this problem. Add to that a liquidity problem because of Granny Smith pulling her life savings of 30K out of the bank because some moron told her that the FDIC wasn't going to pay in the case of Wachovia, and you have an instant problem. Oh, there's lots of people to blame for the problems that Wachovia has right now, but the World Savings portfolio isn't the big badass on the block here. Borrowers who borrow more than they know they can afford, brokers who "state" income, lenders who don't do their DD to determine if the amount stated is reasonable (and it did happen at World. I've cleaned up a few where the underwriter didn't pay close attention, and was only one closing away from bonus--not smart), the Federal Gov't, who thought it would be great to get everybody in a home, even if they couldn't afford it, builders, who think that their homes should be the most expensive outhouses on the block. The list goes on and on, like the Energizer Bunny. It's not World, it's the whole system that broke down. But Wachovia had to blame someone, and Herb and Marion's best and brightest were left with the blame.

MLC in Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina said: LMAO, this is the pot calling the kettle bl@ck here, was not the pick a pay the most profitable loan in your portfolio? Yeah, karma got you freaks right back, taking advantage of people who can not speak English, the elderly and the list goes on and on. We are getting the real stories now on the PAP portfolio and it does not look good. PGE team is taking applications on every customer out there. I am sure the FBI will be knocking on brokers doors here in the next few years once this mess gets cleaned up.

I love the Citi 60 bl law suit,

they try and buy WB for 2.1 bl and go to sue for 60 bl,

They must be using one of the World calculators you freaks used for verifying income on applicants!

2+6=13

Get your resume ready good ole buddy, 10-4.

Phila Buster in Washington, District of Columbia said: The fact remains that Wachovia is claiming losses well in excess of the total delinquencies in the residential (formerly World) portfolio. Wachovia scapegoated the PAP, but commercial lending at insane levels is what's at the root of this problem. Add to that a liquidity problem because of Granny Smith pulling her life savings of 30K out of the bank because some moron told her that the FDIC wasn't going to pay in the case of Wachovia, and you have an instant problem. Oh, there's lots of people to blame for the problems that Wachovia has right now, but the World Savings portfolio isn't the big badass on the block here. Borrowers who borrow more than they know they can afford, brokers who "state" income, lenders who don't do their DD to determine if the amount stated is reasonable (and it did happen at World. I've cleaned up a few where the underwriter didn't pay close attention, and was only one closing away from bonus--not smart), the Federal Gov't, who thought it would be great to get everybody in a home, even if they couldn't afford it, builders, who think that their homes should be the most expensive outhouses on the block. The list goes on and on, like the Energizer Bunny. It's not World, it's the whole system that broke down. But Wachovia had to blame someone, and Herb and Marion's best and brightest were left with the blame.

very true, very true. Wachovia has many more risky commercial and residential loans, but they are trying to put up a smokescreen. Even Wells has serious concerns about their commercial portfolio.

Narcissistic personality disorder is a condition characterized by an inflated sense of self-importance and an extreme preoccupation with one's self.

A person (Wachovia) with narcissistic personality disorder:

Reacts to criticism with feelings or rage, shame, or humiliation
Takes advantage of others to achieve own goals
Has feelings of self-importance
Exaggerates achievements and talents
Is preoccupied with fantasies of success, power, beauty, intelligence, or ideal love
Has unreasonable expectations of favorable treatment

Sounds familiar...

Wachovia, wwhat a fine kettle of fish you've gotten yourselves into. Let's see, you bought Golden West without understanding that World held its loan in portfolio. And now, you've tried to sell yourself to two companies at the same time. Does Wachovia have any clue?

I find it all fairly ironic that the executives who are making such outlandish amounts of money don't understand fairly elementary business practices.

drama queen in Chicago, Illinois said: Wachovia, wwhat a fine kettle of fish you've gotten yourselves into. Let's see, you bought Golden West without understanding that World held its loan in portfolio. And now, you've tried to sell yourself to two companies at the same time. Does Wachovia have any clue?

I find it all fairly ironic that the executives who are making such outlandish amounts of money don't understand fairly elementary business practices.

The execs are stepping over each other to bail out, take what they can get and escape the backlash.

nasty wach in florida in miami, Florida said: The execs are stepping over each other to bail out, take what they can get and escape the backlash.

I wonder if Steely Bob knew what he was getting into...

nasty wach in florida in miami, Florida said: Get your resume ready good ole buddy, 10-4.

I already have it ready, and THANK GOD I put Wachovia down and not World !

Phila Buster in Washington, District of Columbia said: I wonder if Steely Bob knew what he was getting into...

Steely Bob ... I almost snarfed by beer ... is he related to Steely Dan III from Yokohama?
www.superseventies.com/steelydan1.html

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGRCelgIHbk

MLC in Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina said: I already have it ready, and THANK GOD I put Wachovia down and not World !

rock on dood

Man ... This can't be good

IRS Change Helpful To Wells Fargo's Wachovia Bid Questioned

Senate tax staff members are questioning whether the Treasury Department acted within its authority in easing rules to preserve tax losses in bank-to-bank merger deals. That decision has ramifications in ongoing negotiations aimed at selling troubled Wachovia Corp. (WB).

The Treasury rule change, announced last Tuesday, would allow an acquiring bank far greater latitude in using losses from the bank being bought to reduce future taxable income. That change could affect numerous bank acquisitions, but its immediate impact is on a $15.4 billion bid from Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) to acquire Wachovia.

As a result of the change, Wells Fargo stands to reap billions in the form of lower taxes, if its merger with Wachovia is approved. Citigroup Inc. (C), seeking to defend its own bid for Wachovia, which is backed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., has challenged the Wells Fargo-Wachovia combination in court.

The three parties agreed Monday to suspend litigation to try to reach a settlement agreement by Wednesday.

Senate aides said they have questions about whether the Treasury was authorized to lift tax-loss limitation rules in bank merger transactions, or whether a change in law would be needed.

"It was a bit of a surprise. We are asking the questions," one Senate tax aide said. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.

Senate Finance Committee staff members were slated to meet Tuesday with Treasury officials to discuss the change.

The change in the loss rules for bank mergers is one of a series of tax policy changes the Treasury has made in recent days in an effort to shore up the stressed credit markets.

In emails and conversations with congressional staff, Citigroup has cried foul over the IRS ruling and claimed that it amounted to interference in its pursuit of Wachovia, according to congressional aides.

One House aide suggested the tax committees are likely to take a closer look at not only the Treasury loss-limitation rule change, but Treasury tax actions more broadly in the wake of the credit crisis.

"This seems like something that on its face, would be a statutory change," the aide said. "There's a lot of action taking place through rule-making that is pushing that envelope."

Citigroup agreed in principle to buy the Charlotte bank's banking business early on Sept. 29. Citi agreed to pay $2.1 billion to Wachovia's shareholders, and $12 billion to the FDIC to curb potential losses from write-downs related to Wachovia's mortgage assets. Part of the agreement was that Wachovia would not talk to any other potential deal partner.

Citi was to leave Wachovia's brokerage operation behind, while Wachovia's agreement with Wells Fargo announced Friday was for the entire company. Wachovia argued its deal was more advantageous for its shareholders. Wells Fargo offered $15.4 billion for Wachovia.

The Treasury rule change applies only to banks acquiring other banks. It follows a similar lifting of loss-limitation rules earlier this year in specific cases involving the government's bailout of Fannie Mae (FNM), Freddie Mac (FRE) and American International Group Inc. (AIG).

Under tax laws, acquiring companies are limited in the amount of losses they can use from the company being bought to reduce future tax liability. Those loss-limitation rules were set up to avoid so-called "trafficking in losses" - the act of buying a loss corporation for no other purpose than to reduce one's tax bill. But last Tuesday's Treasury notice says those limitations will not apply in the case of a bank being acquired by another bank.

Wachovia's built-in losses from bad debts are likely to be substantial, in the tens of billions of dollars.

Citigroup would not benefit from the rule change to the same extent as Wells Fargo for several reasons, people familiar with the matter say. Citigroup would face more limits on its ability to use Wachovia losses because it is proposing to acquire the bank in a government-facilitated transaction. In addition, Citigroup is proposing to buy only a part of Wachovia, in which case the Treasury rule change would not apply.

A Senate tax aide said the Treasury's decision to lift loss-limitation rules made sense in the cases of the previous government rescues of Fannie, Freddie and AIG. That is because the federal government, which does not pay taxes, would have no use for the built-in losses anyway. But transactions between private parties require a different analysis, the aide said

Make-Believe Maverick
A closer look at the life and career of John McCain reveals a disturbing record of recklessness and dishonesty

www.rollingstone.com/news/story/23 316912/makebelieve_maverick/print

Indeed, many leading Republicans who once admired McCain see his recent contortions to appease the GOP base as the undoing of a maverick. "John McCain's ambition overrode his basic character," says Rita Hauser, who served on the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board from 2001 to 2004. But the truth of the matter is that ambition is John McCain's basic character. Seen in the sweep of his seven-decade personal history, his pandering to the right is consistent with the only constant in his life: doing what's best for himself. To put the matter squarely: John McCain is his own special interest.

"John has made a pact with the devil," says Lincoln Chafee, the former GOP senator, who has been appalled at his one-time colleague's readiness to sacrifice principle for power. Chafee and McCain were the only Republicans to vote against the Bush tax cuts. They locked arms in opposition to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. And they worked together in the "Gang of 14," which blocked some of Bush's worst judges from the federal bench.

"On all three — sadly, sadly, sadly — McCain has flip-flopped," Chafee says. And forget all the "Country First" sloganeering, he adds. "McCain is putting himself first. He's putting himself first in blinking neon lights."

nasty wach in florida in miami, Florida said: Narcissistic personality disorder is a condition characterized by an inflated sense of self-importance and an extreme preoccupation with one's self.

A person (Wachovia) with narcissistic personality disorder:

Reacts to criticism with feelings or rage, shame, or humiliation
Takes advantage of others to achieve own goals
Has feelings of self-importance
Exaggerates achievements and talents
Is preoccupied with fantasies of success, power, beauty, intelligence, or ideal love
Has unreasonable expectations of favorable treatment

Sounds familiar...

That sounds great and eveything, but can we please get back to talking about me. No, I am just kidding. I would really like to know what you think of Me.

Phila Buster in Washington, District of Columbia said: Serious question for you....did you dress up as Elvis for Halloween?

Finally, a question with some substance. Of course. Ok, I am dressed up like that now. Sideburns and all. I am planning to pass out Wachovia stock. :) take care.

MLC in Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina said: I already have it ready, and THANK GOD I put Wachovia down and not World !

you may want to change it now.

I think Nasty and Phiyllis need to join a dating website. The two of you are up each others arse! Elvis sounds like he would make it a 3-some. The 3 of you really should have more to do than sit on this sit all day...day after day. Hopefully you watch Saturday Night Live this week. Looks like the mainstream has caught on to you.

Very Good!

Presley Elvis in Memphis, Tennessee said: Finally, a question with some substance. Of course. Ok, I am dressed up like that now. Sideburns and all. I am planning to pass out Wachovia stock. :) take care.

My comment "Very Good" was for you Elvis. Nice to have a chuckle

get over it and move on in banking central, North Carolina said: I think Nasty and Phiyllis need to join a dating website. The two of you are up each others arse! Elvis sounds like he would make it a 3-some. The 3 of you really should have more to do than sit on this sit all day...day after day. Hopefully you watch Saturday Night Live this week. Looks like the mainstream has caught on to you.

I see that you are here again, want to make it a foursome? We just assumed with all that merger talk, you finally have nothing to say. How's your resume coming along?

Presley Elvis in Memphis, Tennessee said: Finally, a question with some substance. Of course. Ok, I am dressed up like that now. Sideburns and all. I am planning to pass out Wachovia stock. :) take care.

Good one, but the folks probably want candy, it's worth more.

get over it and move on in banking central, North Carolina said: I think Nasty and Phiyllis need to join a dating website. The two of you are up each others arse! Elvis sounds like he would make it a 3-some. The 3 of you really should have more to do than sit on this sit all day...day after day. Hopefully you watch Saturday Night Live this week. Looks like the mainstream has caught on to you.

Oh my, when one can think of nothing else to say.....

Seen this before. It seems when people agree or have similar points of view then they must be in bed together. This is old and tiring.

Yes, we all saw SNL. It was funny!

SOCA Appraiser in California said: Oh my, when one can think of nothing else to say.....

Seen this before. It seems when people agree or have similar points of view then they must be in bed together. This is old and tiring.

Yes, we all saw SNL. It was funny!

Yes, you are right. These folks are just bitter and whining don't you think?

nasty wach in florida in miami, Florida said: I see that you are here again, want to make it a foursome? We just assumed with all that merger talk, you finally have nothing to say. How's your resume coming along?

Do you mind if i borrow your resume...so i know what not to say. Your's probably says..."Very pestimistic, not a self motivator, can't let go of the past, very small minded, not very efficient, but love to get on forums and blame everybody but myself. Other than that I'm perfect."

The SNL Bailout skit was pulled from YouTube and the SNL Websites!
Do you think the Sandler's lawyers might have had something to do with that?

nasty wach in florida in miami, Florida said: Yes, you are right. These folks are just bitter and whining don't you think?

Very bitter. We are very upset with Ken Thompson's decision more than ever. 2 companies could have been saved. You think WS would have lasted..and we think WB would have survived.

get over it and move on in banking central, North Carolina said: Do you mind if i borrow your resume...so i know what not to say. Your's probably says..."Very pestimistic, not a self motivator, can't let go of the past, very small minded, not very efficient, but love to get on forums and blame everybody but myself. Other than that I'm perfect."

sure, anytime. At least mine doesn't say " work for unethical, money laundering, elderly bilking, investment scandals etc company", you can add bitter and whining now to yours. I honestly would think twice about putting where you worked on the resume. I mean it. Good luck.