Wachovia Bank, Charlotte (King, Tryon: mortgage, credit, live in)

[neilk]

Hi All,
Looking for some advice. Sorry newbie so please be gentle if this has been
covered already in full or in part (I did used the search engine but have
not found anything specific although now I am more scared than I was !!)
The situation is this - I am contemplating a job with Wachovia Bank although
its not final from them its pretty close to final. I have done a lot of research
on this bank but everytime I start it I end up getting only -ve information
from the markets/internet reading.
I am originally from Australia - live in Melbourne and want to move to USA for
a different experience. I am married with no kids. So this will be a big move
for me. The move will be to Charlotte,NC.
To complicate this the current economic climate and not to mention that I work
in banking area/Finance.
What I really would like to know is :
1./ How would you think about the situation above - any advice ?
2./ Is it too risky to move ?
3./ The most important thing - how is Wachovia doing there? I read their website
and the current Q2 result and its scary (the write downs they have had to
take to Profit and loss)
4./ Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance.

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by neilk

Hi All,
Looking for some advice. Sorry newbie so please be gentle if this has been
covered already in full or in part (I did used the search engine but have
not found anything specific although now I am more scared than I was !!)
The situation is this - I am contemplating a job with Wachovia Bank although
its not final from them its pretty close to final. I have done a lot of research
on this bank but everytime I start it I end up getting only -ve information
from the markets/internet reading.
I am originally from Australia - live in Melbourne and want to move to USA for
a different experience. I am married with no kids. So this will be a big move
for me. The move will be to Charlotte,NC.
To complicate this the current economic climate and not to mention that I work
in banking area/Finance.
What I really would like to know is :
1./ How would you think about the situation above - any advice ?
2./ Is it too risky to move ?
3./ The most important thing - how is Wachovia doing there? I read their website
and the current Q2 result and its scary (the write downs they have had to
take to Profit and loss)
4./ Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance.

Yes, Wachovia is having its share of problems right now, but with a new CEO I believe they are getting back on the right track. Certain areas of the bank are very strong and they are still a very large presence here in Charlotte. The folks losing jobs with them are mostly all mortgage related. If you were uprooting a big family to make the move I'd say be more cautious. But since you don't have children to worry about, I say take the risk and give it a try!

[neilk]

Hi There,
Thank you very much. I will be working (or if they do give a final ok) as a
financial analyst in the finance department. I have not been told which part
of the bank as it was a multiple position requirement and this is the next
stage where they will give all the details.
Can you tell me which areas are doing well and which you think are not within
the bank ? I read some stats and it scares me - they slashed +6k of jobs and
closed +4k opening positions with current YTD loss the bank has is 10bn. I
do understand they have a massive presence there and as such are the 4th largest
banks (?) in US, just some internet commentary I read gets me....
Thanks

[Miker2069]

Originally Posted by neilk

Hi There,
Thank you very much. I will be working (or if they do give a final ok) as a
financial analyst in the finance department. I have not been told which part
of the bank as it was a multiple position requirement and this is the next
stage where they will give all the details.
Can you tell me which areas are doing well and which you think are not within
the bank ? I read some stats and it scares me - they slashed +6k of jobs and
closed +4k opening positions with current YTD loss the bank has is 10bn. I
do understand they have a massive presence there and as such are the 4th largest
banks (?) in US, just some internet commentary I read gets me....
Thanks

You should find out if it's considered Securities or General Banking....Basically Securities is very turbulent (meaning there's a lot of changes happening), General Banking is for the most part stable. I'd start there.

[chicagocubs]

Neilk...

The mortgage division is what is seriously hurting. That is where the majority of the job cuts are coming from...8k+ out of 11500....being an analyst probably would be ok, especially if they are willing to sponsor you..just look at who your line of business would be. General Bank is ok, but, in the ORG (organization) chart, there would be General Bank, then...(for example) Wachovia Mortgage, then, Retail Credit....etc. Find out the ORG chart of your position and that would give us a better idea to be able to help you. Your recruiter should be able to help you with that. Being an analyst, she/he should understand that you just want to research it...

[MrConfigT]

If they're going to sponsor you then I doubt that they will go through that trouble just to axe you 6 months later.

There's so much doom and gloom in the financial industry its getting hard to decipher what is fact from fiction.

I tried for a long time to get a job in Australia with Cisco but they wouldn't sponsor me when I could do the same thing over here.

[Whytewulf]

Wachovia isn't going anywhere in my opinion and I have several friends over there. That isn't to say jobs aren't going anywhere, but they are still promoting and hiring where they need people. If you were in the trading, security or mortage side I would avoid it. But General Financial analysts are needed, BB&T and Bank of America also keep hiring them. I believe if you get sponsored don't they comitt to some time frame? Are they willing to move you as well? I would just read the contract as thouroughly as possible.

Oh and I think you will enjoy Charlotte, lots of fun things to do and people to meet. Once you get this settled, let us know the location and we can help find some good areas for you if you would like.

[Metallisteve]

Although they did just take a $9 billion hit this year, they are still currently building the second tallest building in Charlotte. I'm the furthest thing from a financial guru or someone in any sort of know about the bank climate, but building a 50+ story building in uptown Charlotte is no cheap or easy feat. And given Charlotte's high occupancy rate in uptown, I'd say they're going to be doing just fine once that building opens and starts collecting rent!

For those who don't know, this building is an addition to a network of buildings making up the Wachovia plaza. What is this one? Wachovia 3?

[flyingscotsman]

Wachovia 3, is the corner of Tryon & Martin Luther King, actual address is 401 South Tryon Street.

So maybe they will call that 4, need to go and look at the model on display in Wachovia 2.

[Metallisteve]

I have seen it! It moves everytime I take someone to see it though! I hope they finish it like what is depicted in the model...a milk carton style top with a circular hole through it! Pretty cool!