Wachovia has a new CEO (Charlotte, Washington: appointed, for sale, buying)

[chicagocubs]

any thoughts?

[KCfromNC]

Sounds like they bought a direct line to the head of the bank bail-out division of the US government. Not a bad plan considering how Wachovia's situation is looking these days.

[berryjuice4life]

Dh agrees it was a good deal...

[PIB]

As an employee and I will be in wait and see what he can do mode for the stock holders and employees.b

[BrianH1970]

Slowly the talk of the day has turned to the theory that Steel was brought into this company to negotiate the sale of the bank. He has absolutely no experience on the retail side which is being seen as a huge negative. Speculation is that the street wanted the bank to be sold, one of the reasons why the stock hit a 17 year low (the 2.8 billion in losses notwithstanding). Pretty interesting that it was Wachovia that contacted Steel, a Washington guy, to run the ship. Interesting in that the main roadblock for JP Morgan to buy Wachovia was they would've been above the federal deposit cap. Between his Goldman Sachs and Washington links, it's hard to not connect the dots and see where they may go with all of this.

If Wachovia remains independent, and that's a huge if, in the long run it will not be anywhere near the company it was under EJ Smith...I mean Ken Thompson's leadership.

Wachovia CEO Steel's Options To Right Company Seen Limited (broken link)

Wachovia's falling stock Thursday suggests that some investors are disappointed the company hired a new CEO rather than negotiating a sale. The stock was recently trading at $13.29, down 7%. Year to date, the stock is down more than 65%

Still, analysts said Wachovia would be a very good fit for JPMorgan Chase. JPMorgan Chairman and CEO James Dimon has repeatedly said the company's next deal will likely be a retail bank.

Dimon has said he wants JPMorgan Chase's retail-banking operations to enter California, and expand its small presence in Florida, two of the most important states for retail banking. Buying Wachovia, Fitzsimmons said, "would make JPMorgan Chase a nearly national (retail banking) franchise," creating a branch network that would rival that of Bank of America Corp. (BAC), the nation's largest bank by deposits and number of retail branches.

U.S. Bancorp, Wells Fargo, and JPMorgan didn't comment.

But some analysts still think a sale is a good possibility in the long run. Steel is "going to have a really difficult time to get control of this company," Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. analyst Richard X. Bove said. "The possibility is high that he will sell."

For now, only one thing seems certain: If Wachovia remains independent, it "is going to be a much smaller company" going forward, in terms of assets and revenue, Fitzsimmons said.

Wachovia's Steel talks changes - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:

Gary Townsend, a partner with Hill-Townsend Capital, says Steel has an impressive résumé. But his lack of retail- or commercial-banking experience is a "significant negative," and he may have been selected to prepare the company for a sale, Townsend says.

Analysts have suggested JPMorgan Chase & Co. might be one potential buyer of the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has made no secret of his desire for a retail-banking network in the Southeast.

Psst. Want Wachovia? - Forbes.com

Shareholders would be irked, but perhaps the best thing that could happen to them would be for the bank to be spruced up and sold. Perhaps not coincidentally, Steel, a former Goldman Sachs executive, has no hands-on experience running a commercial bank. That has encouraged speculation that Wachovia is up for sale and Steel is only there to prep it for viewing. (See " Wachovia Steels Itself For Uncertain Future")

The clean-up would have to come before any buyer would step forward, but there are any number of potential acquirers that would be attracted to Wachovia's presence in the Southeast and California. Among the likely suspects are JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo.

[lovesMountains]

Would somebody just please explain to me what makes him, or any CEO, worth 38 MILLION in salary and benefits????

[BrianH1970]

Originally Posted by lovesMountains

Would somebody just please explain to me what makes him, or any CEO, worth 38 MILLION in salary and benefits????

If I had only applied myself in school just a little more....

[Miker2069]

Originally Posted by lovesMountains

Would somebody just please explain to me what makes him, or any CEO, worth 38 MILLION in salary and benefits????

Because someone (or entity) is willing to pay it- the benefits of a free market economy.

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by Miker2069

Because someone (or entity) is willing to pay it- the benefits of a free market economy.

I DO love free enterprise Miker - just don't quite get these big CEO salaries in today's hard economic times. Honestly, I would be embarrassed to make that kind of money and keep it all to myself - and maybe this guy won't, so I'm not trying to judge him prematurely. As for myself, the fun would be in sharing it and just plain giving it to better causes (kinda like Bill Gates)

[Miker2069]

Originally Posted by lovesMountains

I DO love free enterprise Miker - just don't quite get these big CEO salaries in today's hard economic times. Honestly, I would be embarrassed to make that kind of money and keep it all to myself - and maybe this guy won't, so I'm not trying to judge him prematurely. As for myself, the fun would be in sharing it and just plain giving it to better causes (kinda like Bill Gates)

Oh yeah I agree with you- basically my premise is if you can make it or get that) more power to you (because I certainly won't be embarrassed) .

The really great folks who are on the other side of the money line, meaning there is so much money that there is no way they or there offspring could spend it in there collective lifetimes, is to give it away and do good with it.