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61-464: Bowman Gray was born in what was then Winston, North Carolina, to Wachovia co-founder James Alexander Gray and the former Aurelia Bowman. After receiving his primary and secondary education in his hometown, Gray matriculated at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the 1890-91 academic year and was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He left school the following year to become

122-472: A church . Two years after moving to Graylyn, Gray died of a heart attack while vacationing with his family aboard a ship off the coast of Norway. He was buried at sea. Gray donated to philanthropic causes in the region, many times doing so quietly. At the time of his death in 1935, he left $ 750,000 worth of stock in R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company to be used for a cause beneficial to the community. His brother, wife, and two sons eventually decide to donate it to

183-579: A "silent run". Ultimately, Wachovia lost a total of $ 5 billion in deposits that day—about one percent of the bank's total deposits. The large outflow of deposits attracted the attention of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency , which regulates national banks. Federal regulators pressured Wachovia to put itself up for sale over the weekend. Had Wachovia failed, it would have been a severe drain on

244-943: A bitter battle over the summer between SunTrust and First Union. Both banks increased their offers for Wachovia, took out newspaper ads, mailed letters to shareholders, and initiated court battles to challenge each other's takeover bids. On August 3, 2001, Wachovia shareholders approved the First Union deal, rejecting SunTrust's attempts to elect a new board of directors for Wachovia and ending SunTrust's hostile takeover attempt. Another complication concerned each bank's credit card division. In April 2001, Wachovia had agreed to sell its $ 8 billion credit card portfolio to Bank One . The cards, which would have still been branded as Wachovia, would have been issued through Bank One's First USA division. First Union had sold its credit card portfolio to MBNA in August 2000. After entering into negotiations,

305-586: A blow to their civic pride because the merged company would be based in Charlotte. The city of Winston-Salem was concerned both by job losses and the loss of stature from losing a major corporate headquarters. First Union was concerned by the potential deposit attrition and customer loss in the city. First Union responded to these concerns by placing the wealth management and Carolinas-region headquarters in Winston-Salem. On May 14, 2001, SunTrust announced

366-516: A clerk at Wachovia. In 1895, he began working at R. J. Reynolds as a salesman. His sales success propelled him into management after two years, at which point he moved to Baltimore , Maryland , where he married the former Nathalie Fontaine Lyons on October 1, 1902. There she gave birth to their two sons, Bowman Gray Jr. in 1907 and Gordon Gray in 1909. In 1912, Gray moved his family to Winston to take up his new position of vice president and director of R. J. Reynolds, picked by Reynolds himself to head

427-495: A competitor. In late 2005 Wachovia announced that it would end its relationship with MBNA and create its own credit card division so that the bank could issue its own Visa cards. Westcorp, Western Financial Bank's parent company, WFS Financial Inc. and Wachovia announced a proposed acquisition by Wachovia in September 2005. Westcorp and WFS Financial Inc. shareholders approved the acquisition on Jan. 6, 2006 and on March 1, 2006,

488-680: A conference center. Gray left behind him a legacy of philanthropy. He donated the property on which the Centenary Methodist Church in Winston would be built in downtown Winston-Salem and contributed to local hospitals and orphanages as well. He and his sons also contributed heavily to Wake Forest University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. At the time of his death, his holdings in R. J. Reynolds alone were valued at $ 12 million. Wachovia Wachovia

549-514: A failure dwarfing that of WaMu. Wealth management Wealth management ( WM ) or wealth management advisory ( WMA ) is an investment advisory service that provides financial management and wealth advisory services to a wide array of clients ranging from affluent to high-net-worth (HNW) and ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) individuals and families. It is a discipline which incorporates structuring and planning wealth to assist in growing, preserving, and protecting wealth, whilst passing it onto

610-724: A major player in the Northeast. Its Northeastern footprint grew even larger in 1998, when it acquired CoreStates Financial Corporation of Philadelphia . One of CoreStates' predecessors, the Bank of North America , had been the first bank proposed, chartered and incorporated in America on December 31, 1781. A former Bank of North America branch in Philadelphia remains in operation today as a Wells Fargo branch Wachovia Corporation began on June 16, 1879, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, as

671-522: A medical school willing to relocate to Winston-Salem. Wake Forest College, then located in Wake Forest, North Carolina, agreed to move its two-year medical school and expand it to a four-year curriculum, partnering with North Carolina Baptist Hospital. Bowman Gray School of Medicine opened in 1941. The move of the medical school later inspired members of the Reynolds family to lead efforts to bring

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732-402: A model which asks clients about life goals, working environments, and spending patterns as a way to increase communication. The industry-recognized wealth management was more than an investment advisory discipline. In 2015, United Capital rebranded their wealth management services using the term "financial life management", which, according to the company, was intended to more clearly define

793-473: A national bank and comprehensive financial services company. Merchandise While First Union was merging into Wachovia, they changed the Wachovia logo to a square with wave like lines, the green color represents First Union while the blue represents the main company. They have also released new merchandise such as t-shirts, and provided other things such as retractable keychains, cups, and coffee mugs to show

854-448: A part of the interest owed, which was then added onto the balance of the loan. In 2006, Golden West Financial was named the "Most Admired Company" in the mortgage services business by Fortune magazine . By the time Wachovia announced its acquisition, Golden West had over $ 125 billion in assets and 11,600 employees. By October 2, 2006, Wachovia had closed the acquisition of Golden West Financial Corporation. The Sandlers agreed to remain on

915-531: A portfolio of over $ 50 billion of securities on loan to the Wachovia Global Securities Lending division. On November 1, 2004, Wachovia completed the acquisition of Birmingham, Alabama -based SouthTrust Corporation , a transaction valued at $ 14.3 billion. The merger created the largest bank in the southeast United States, the fourth largest bank in terms of holdings, and the second largest in terms of number of branches. Integration

976-466: A rival takeover bid for Wachovia, the first hostile takeover attempt in the banking sector in many years. In its effort to make the deal appeal to investors, SunTrust argued that it would provide a smoother transition than First Union and offered a higher cash price for Wachovia stock than First Union. Wachovia's board of directors rejected SunTrust's offer and supported the merger with First Union. SunTrust continued its hostile takeover attempt, leading to

1037-578: A small banking desk in the lobby of a Charlotte hotel by H.M. Victor. The bank merged with First National Bank and Trust Company of Asheville, North Carolina , in 1958 to become First Union National Bank of North Carolina. First Union Corporation was incorporated in 1967. By the 1990s, it had grown into a Southern regional powerhouse in a strategy mirroring its longtime rival on Tryon Street in Charlotte, NCNB (later NationsBank and now Bank of America ). In 1995, however, it acquired First Fidelity Bancorporation of Newark, New Jersey ; at one stroke becoming

1098-425: A step that some regulators frowned upon, and which the former World Savings management had resisted for years: it allowed borrowers to make monthly payments with an annual interest rate of just 1 percent. While Wachovia Mortgage continued to scrutinize borrowers' ability to manage increased payments, the move to rock-bottom rates lured customers whose financial reliability was more difficult to verify. More than 70% of

1159-697: The Latin form of the Austrian name Wachau . When Moravian settlers arrived in Bethabara, North Carolina , in 1753, they gave this name to the land they acquired, because it resembled the Wachau valley along the Danube River . The area formerly known as Wachovia now makes up most of Forsyth County , and the largest city is now Winston-Salem. First Union was founded as Union National Bank on June 2, 1908,

1220-822: The Wachovia Financial Center . The merger also affected the names of the indoor professional sports arenas in Philadelphia and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania . Formerly known as the First Union Center and the First Union Spectrum (both Philadelphia) and First Union Arena (Wilkes-Barre), they were renamed the Wachovia Center (now known as Wells Fargo Center ), Wachovia Spectrum (which was later demolished), and Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza (now known as Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza ), respectively. A graphic illustration of

1281-498: The 1970s, parts of Graylyn were used as off-campus student housing. In 1979, the main house hosted the Wake Forest University "German House." There is a tunnel connecting the main house to the large guest house (the "French House"). It was not until 1980, after a fire burned the top floor of the estate, that the president of the university announced the property would be restored to its original condition and used as

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1342-521: The A.G. Edwards brand in favor of a unified Wachovia Securities . Wachovia, excluding subsidiaries, was the fourth largest bank at the end of 2008. Exposed to risky loans, such as adjustable rate mortgages acquired during the acquisition of Golden West Financial in 2006, Wachovia began to experience heavy losses in its loan portfolios during the subprime mortgage crisis . In the first quarter of 2007, Wachovia reported $ 2.3 billion in earnings, including acquisitions and divestitures. However, in

1403-767: The FDIC's insurance fund due to its size (it operated one of the largest branch networks on the East Coast). As business halted for the weekend, Wachovia was already in FDIC-brokered talks with Citigroup and Wells Fargo ; the latter company initially emerged as the frontrunner to acquire the ailing Wachovia's banking operations. Wells Fargo originally backed out of this particular deal due to concerns over Wachovia's commercial loans. With no deal in place as September 28 dawned, regulators were concerned that Wachovia would not have enough short-term funding to open for business

1464-561: The Pick-A-Pay loans were made in California, Florida and Arizona, where home prices had declined severely. In 2009 New York Times reporter Floyd Norris called World Savings a "ticking timebomb" that created "zombie homeowners". While Wachovia Chairman and CEO G. Kennedy "Ken" Thompson had described Golden West as a "crown jewel", investors did not react positively to the deal. Analysts said that Wachovia purchased Golden West at

1525-554: The Wachovia National Bank. The bank was co-founded by James Alexander Gray and William Lemly. In 1911, the bank merged with Wachovia Loan and Trust Company , "the largest trust company between Baltimore and New Orleans ", which had been founded on June 15, 1893. Wachovia grew to become one of the largest banks in the Southeast partly on the strength of its accounts from the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company , which

1586-751: The Wachovia Securities brand, while its asset management group operated under the Evergreen Investments brand until 2010, when the Evergreen fund family merged with Wells Fargo Advantage Funds, and institutional and high-net-worth products merged with Wells Capital Management and its affiliates. Wachovia's private equity arm operated as Wachovia Capital Partners . Additionally, the asset-based lending group operated as Wachovia Capital Finance. Wachovia ( / w ɑː ˈ k oʊ v i ə / wah- KOH -vee-ə ) has its origins in

1647-506: The World Savings loan portfolio. They noted that the creditworthiness of World Savings borrowers edged down from 2004 to 2006, while Pick-A-Pay borrowers had credit scores well below the industry average for traditional loans. World Savings lending volume dipped again in 2006 shortly after the sale to Wachovia was initiated. In 2007, after the merger, World Savings, then known as Wachovia Mortgage began to attract more borrowers by taking

1708-422: The acquisition and integration of World Savings Bank in 2007. Wachovia agreed to purchase Golden West Financial for a little under $ 25.5 billion on May 7, 2006. This acquisition gave Wachovia an additional 285-branch network spanning 10 states. Wachovia greatly raised its profile in California, where Golden West held $ 32 billion in deposits and operated 123 branches. Golden West, which operated branches under

1769-403: The board at Wachovia. The Sandlers sold their firm at the top of the market, saying that they were growing older and wanted to devote themselves to philanthropy. A year earlier, in 2005, World Savings lending had started to slow, after more than quadrupling since 1998. Some current and former Wachovia officials said that the merger was agreed to within days, making it impossible to thoroughly vet

1830-578: The company out of its difficulties. After Steel took over, he insisted that Wachovia would stay independent. However, its stock price plunged 27 percent on September 26 due to the seizure of Washington Mutual the previous night. On the same day, several businesses and institutional depositors withdrew money from their accounts in order to drop their balances below the $ 100,000 insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)—an event known in banking circles as

1891-565: The company's finance division. In 1924, he was promoted to president of the company to succeed William Neal Reynolds , and in 1932 he became the chairman of the board of directors. Gray's brother James Gray Jr. would also become president of R. J. Reynolds. Between 1927 and 1932, he and his wife oversaw the construction of Graylyn , their 87-acre (350,000 m) estate in the countryside surrounding Winston, across from R.J. Reynolds ' estate Reynolda House . In 1932 when they moved into Graylyn, Gray and his wife donated their former house for use as

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1952-566: The company's major mergers, acquisitions, and historical predecessors, up to the 2001 merger of Wachovia and First Union: Union National Bank   (est. 1908) First National Bank & Trust CoreStates Financial   (dates to 1781) Wachovia National Bank  (Formerly: Bank of Salem )  (est. 1879) Wachovia Loan & Trust   (est. 1893) First Atlanta  (Formerly Atlanta National Bank)  (est. 1865) Between 2001 and 2006, Wachovia bought several other financial services companies in an attempt to become

2013-737: The difference between wealth management companies and more affordable brokerage firms . The same year Merrill Lynch began a program, Merrill Lynch Clear, which asks investors to describe life goals, and includes an educational program for clients' children. For clients looking to leverage their wealth for the sake of achieving philanthropical and charitable goals, social finance investments may be included. According to Euromoney's annual Private banking and wealth management ranking 2023, which consider (DE FACTO) [[STANLEY, ANTWANNA DARYLN [ZION]], net income and net new assets, global private banking assets grew just 10.8%YoY (compared with 16.7% ten years ago). The largest private banks and wealth managers in

2074-495: The diverse holdings of high-net-worth clients. Banks and brokerage firms use advisory talent-pools to aggregate these same services. The Great Recession of the late 2000s caused investors to address concerns within their portfolios. For this reason wealth managers have been advised that clients have a greater need to understand, access, and communicate with advisers about their situation. As awareness of wealth management has become more common, some companies have shifted towards

2135-491: The expertise and capabilities of the sponsoring firm. Within a few years a new business model emerged – Family Office Exchange in 1990, the Institute for Private Investors in 1991, and CCC Alliance in 1995. These companies aimed to offer an online community as well as a network of peers for ultra high-net-worth individuals and their families. These entities have grown since the 1990s, with total IT spending (for example) by

2196-486: The family in a tax-efficient manner and in accordance with their wishes. Wealth management brings together tax planning, wealth protection, estate planning, succession planning, and family governance. Private wealth management is sought by high-net-worth investors. Generally, this includes advice on the use of various estate planning vehicles, business-succession or stock-option planning, and the occasional use of hedging derivatives for large blocks of stock. Traditionally,

2257-670: The few companies with dual headquarters: one in Winston-Salem and one in Atlanta. In 1991, Wachovia entered the South Carolina market by acquiring South Carolina National Corporation, founded as the Bank of Charleston in 1834. In 1998, Wachovia acquired two Virginia-based banks, Jefferson National Bank and Central Fidelity Bank. In 1997, Wachovia acquired both 1st United Bancorp and American Bankshares Inc, giving its first entry into Florida . In 2000, Wachovia made its final purchase, which

2318-584: The financial press and security analysts. While Wachovia had been viewed as an acquisition candidate after running into problems with earnings and credit quality in 2000, the suitor shocked analysts as many speculated that Wachovia would be sold to Atlanta-based SunTrust . The deal was met with skepticism and criticism. Analysts, remembering the problems with the CoreStates acquisition, were concerned about First Union's ability to merge with another large company. Winston-Salem's citizens and politicians suffered

2379-496: The financial-services industry. Family offices that had formerly served just one family opened their doors to other families, and the term Multi-family office was coined. Accounting firms and investment advisory boutiques created multi-family offices as well. Certain larger firms ( UBS , Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch ) have "tiered" their platforms – with separate branch systems and advisor-training programs, distinguishing "Private Wealth Management" from "Wealth Management", with

2440-670: The global wealth management industry predicted to reach $ 35bn by 2016, including heavy investment in digital channels. Wealth management can be provided by large corporate entities, independent financial advisers or multi-licensed portfolio managers who design services to focus on high-net-worth clients. Large banks and large brokerage houses create segmentation marketing-strategies to sell both proprietary and non-proprietary products and services to investors designated as potential high-net-worth clients. Independent wealth-managers use their experience in estate planning, risk management, and their affiliations with tax and legal specialists, to manage

2501-495: The issues facing individual investors from those facing institutions: The term "wealth management" occurs at least as early as 1933. It came into more general use in the elite retail (or "Private Client") divisions of firms such as Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley (before the Dean Witter Reynolds merger of 1997), to distinguish those divisions' services from mass-market offerings, but has since spread throughout

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2562-475: The latter term denoting the same type of services but with a lower degree of customization and delivered to mass affluent clients. At Morgan Stanley, the "Private Wealth Management" retail division focuses on serving clients with greater than $ 20 million in investment assets while "Global Wealth Management" focuses on accounts smaller than $ 10 million. In the late 1980s, private banks and brokerage firms began to offer seminars and client events designed to showcase

2623-506: The merger was completed. This acquisition made Wachovia the ninth largest auto finance lender in the competitive U.S. auto finance market and provided Wachovia with a small retail and commercial banking presence in Southern California . On February 12, 2007, the former 19 Western Financial Bank branches opened under the Wachovia name. These branches became the launching point for a much larger Wachovia presence in California with

2684-746: The name Wachovia Securities nationwide as well as in six Latin American countries, and investment banking clients in selected industries nationwide. In 2009, Wachovia Securities was the first Wachovia business to be converted to the Wells Fargo brand, when the business became Wells Fargo Advisors. Calibre was an independent consultant that was hired by Wachovia for the Family Wealth Group to research managers. The group no longer uses Calibre. The company's corporate and institutional capital markets and investment banking groups operated under

2745-553: The name World Savings Bank, was the second largest savings and loan in the United States. The business was a small savings and loan in the San Francisco Bay area when it was purchased in 1963 for $ 4 million by Herbert and Marion Sandler . Golden West specialized in option ARMs loans, marketed under the name "Pick-A-Pay." These loans gave the borrower a choice of payment plans, including the option to defer paying

2806-444: The new Wachovia agreed to buy back its portfolio from Bank One in September 2001 and resell it to MBNA. Wachovia paid Bank One a $ 350 million termination fee . On September 4, 2001, First Union and Wachovia officially merged. In order to prevent a repeat of the CoreStates problems, the new Wachovia gradually phased-in the conversion of legacy Wachovia computer systems to First Union systems. The company first began converting systems in

2867-440: The next day. In order to obtain enough liquidity to do business, banks usually depend on short-term loans to each other. However, the markets had been so battered by a credit crisis related to the housing bubble that banks were skittish about making such loans. Under the circumstances, regulators feared that if customers pulled out more money, Wachovia would not have enough liquidity to meet its obligations. This would have resulted in

2928-533: The peak of the US housing boom. Wachovia Mortgage's mortgage-related problems led to Wachovia suffering writedowns and losses that far exceeded the price paid in the acquisition, ending up in the fire-sale of Wachovia to Wells Fargo . On May 31, 2007, Wachovia announced plans to purchase A. G. Edwards for $ 6.8 billion to create the United States' second largest retail brokerage firm. The acquisition closed on October 1, 2007. In early March 2008 Wachovia began to phase out

2989-483: The rest of Wake Forest College to Winston-Salem, which occurred in 1956. Today, Wake Forest University , Wake Forest School of Medicine and Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center are key drivers of the region's economy and have national reputations. Years after Gray's death, Graylyn was donated to the Bowman Gray School of Medicine, where it served as an academic psychiatric hospital facility until 1959. In

3050-539: The second quarter of 2008, Wachovia reported a much larger than anticipated $ 8.9 billion loss. On June 2, 2008, Wachovia chief executive officer Ken Thompson was forced to retire. He had been head of the company since 2000, while it was still known as First Union . The board replaced him on an interim basis with Chairman Lanty Smith. Smith had already replaced Thompson as chairman a month earlier. On July 9, 2008, Wachovia hired Treasury Undersecretary Bob Steel as chief executive in hopes that his experience would lead

3111-512: The southeast United States where both banks had branches, before moving to First Union's branches in the Northeast, which only had to change their signs to reflect the new company name and logo. This process was completed on August 18, 2003, almost 2 years after the merger. In comparison to the CoreStates purchase, the acquisition of Wachovia by First Union was considered successful by analysts. The company's deliberate pace of conversion prevented any large-scale customer attrition . In fact, Wachovia

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3172-712: The success during 2001 to its acquisition by Wells Fargo. Wachovia Securities and the Prudential Securities Division of Prudential Financial, Inc. combined to form Wachovia Securities LLC on July 1, 2003. Wachovia owned a controlling 62% stake, while Prudential Financial retained the remaining 38%. At the time, the new firm had client assets of $ 532.1 billion, making it the nation's third largest full service retail brokerage firm, based on assets. On October 22, 2003, Wachovia announced it would acquire Metropolitan West Securities, an affiliate company of Metropolitan West Financial . This acquisition added

3233-453: The wealthiest retail clients of investment firms demanded a greater level of service, product offering and sales personnel than that received by average clients. With an increase in the number of affluent investors in recent years, there has been an increasing demand for sophisticated financial solutions and expertise throughout the world. The CFA Institute curriculum on private-wealth management indicates that two primary factors distinguish

3294-463: Was Republic Security Bank. On April 16, 2001, First Union announced it would acquire Wachovia, through the exchange of approximately $ 13.4 billion in First Union stock. First Union offered two of its shares for each Wachovia share outstanding. The announcement was made by Wachovia chairman L.M. "Bud" Baker Jr. and First Union chairman Ken Thompson . Baker would become chairman of the merged bank, while Thompson would become president and CEO. First Union

3355-467: Was a diversified financial services company based in Charlotte, North Carolina . Before its acquisition by Wells Fargo and Company in 2008, Wachovia was the fourth-largest bank holding company in the United States, based on total assets. Wachovia provided a broad range of banking, asset management , wealth management , and corporate and investment banking products and services. At its height, it

3416-809: Was absorbed into the Wells Fargo brand in a process that lasted three years. On October 15, 2011, the final Wachovia branches were converted to Wells Fargo. Wachovia was the product of a 2001 merger between the original Wachovia Corporation, based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina , and Charlotte-based First Union Corporation . The company was organized into four divisions: General Bank (retail, small business, and commercial customers), Wealth Management (high-net-worth, personal trust, and insurance business), Capital Management (asset management, retirement, and retail brokerage services), and Corporate and Investment Bank (capital markets, investment banking, and financial advisory). It served retail brokerage clients under

3477-506: Was also headquartered in Winston-Salem. As of December 31, 1964, Wachovia was the first bank in the Southeastern United States to exceed $ 1 billion in resources. On December 12, 1986, Wachovia purchased First Atlanta. Founded as Atlanta National Bank on September 14, 1865, and later renamed to First National Bank of Atlanta, this institution was the oldest national bank in Atlanta. This purchase made Wachovia one of

3538-552: Was completed by the end of 2005. In June 2005, Wachovia negotiated to purchase monoline credit card company MBNA . However, the deal fell through when Wachovia balked at MBNA's purchase price. Within a week of the deal's collapse, MBNA entered into an agreement to be purchased by Wachovia's chief rival, Bank of America . Wachovia received $ 100 million as the result of an agreement Wachovia predecessor First Union made in 2000 when it sold its credit card portfolio to MBNA. This agreement required MBNA to pay this sum if it were ever sold to

3599-456: Was one of the largest providers of financial services in the United States, operating financial centers in 21 states and Washington, D.C. , with locations from Connecticut to Florida and west to California . Wachovia provided global services through more than 40 offices around the world. The acquisition of Wachovia by Wells Fargo was completed on December 31, 2008, after a government-forced sale to avoid Wachovia's failure. The Wachovia brand

3660-410: Was ranked number one in customer satisfaction among major banks by the University of Michigan 's annual American Customer Satisfaction Index for every year after the merger. When Wachovia and First Union merged, Charlotte's One , Two , and Three First Union buildings became One, Two, and Three Wachovia Center (respectively), and the 55-story First Union Financial Center in downtown Miami became

3721-428: Was the acquiring party and nominal survivor, and the merged bank was based in Charlotte and adopted First Union's corporate structure and retained First Union's pre-2001 stock price history. However, as an important part of the merger, the merged bank took Wachovia's name and stock ticker symbol; despite First Union technically being the surviving identity and acquiring party. This merger was viewed with great surprise by

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