Changes...

One thing that is inevitable is change. This past Monday, Sept. 29th I woke up and there were radical changes everywhere. Summer was gone and the cool fall weather has swept in. My best friend called me and told me he eloped with his girlfriend. A distant relative informed me that he was fired from his job just short of his sixth month anniversary because he did not make the cut. But the biggest change was what I experienced. I work in banking and Monday I woke up to find out that my company was being taken over by Citibank. If you havent figured it out yet, well now you know that I work for Wachovia. And as an employee in NYC, I was most assured of being displaced because of "synergies" (meaning duplicate job functions in the same market. Me and my colleagues were crushed. Our pensions were wiped out and Citi was buying the crown jewels of this bank for $1 a share... what the f**K???. The remainder of the bank, Wachovia Securities and Evergreen Investments would remain under the old holding company. The total cost is $2.1 billion and they would get boku assistance from the Fed. Taxpayers would be on the hook for any losses beyond the $42 billion Citi had projected to write off immediately. We were essentially being forced into a shot gun wedding and there was nothing we could do about it.

So for four days we went through the motions of doing our jobs. I now knew what it feels like when you are condemned to a fate that no one can can alter... be it death by disease or death row. I was resigned to my fate and just hoped that perhaps I could land another position prior to being excised. And then it happened. My alarm went off at 5:45am and 1010 WINS announces that Wells Fargo was buying Wachovia Bank. My eyes popped open fast and for a sec I thought, they must be buying what was left of it. While the coffee was brewing, I went online and the news was slow to filter in but in the end, it was what the radio was announcing--Wells Fargo was buy the WHOLE thing! I dont remember ever in my life screaming YESSSS!! so loudly so early! Suddenly, I felt an urge to smile. I had renewed energy. When I walked into my office every one was SMILING! It was like a heavy cloud had been lifted and now it seems that there is hope for the legacy of this great franchise and its people to survive.

Now, we will probably see some court action in the next few days. But thats ok. There was NO definitive agreement signed--it was still in the stages of being negotiated. With Wells Fargo there is a deal and I am personally confident that there is a good chance that this transaction will prevail. Its a win-win for everyone. Wells becomes a national bank that can compete with the likes of Chase and BofA. The shareholders of Wachovia become part of a storied franchise and and continue in its growth story. There is NO cost to the taxpayer! And we will at least have a chance to continue working. More to come as this saga plays out but my prediction is that if a bidding war breaks out, the winner will be the sharesholders although i cant say the same for the employees of the bank!