News-Record.com

Tuesday's lead editorial.

Wachovia’s whirlwind corporate courtship with New York’s Citigroup went almost as quickly as it came last week.

The foundering, Charlotte-based banking giant’s shotgun wedding with Citi had seemed a done deal until Wells Fargo suddenly swept Wachovia from the altar with a cool $15.1 billion stock offer.

Good thing, too. Wachovia and San Francisco-based Wells Fargo are much better suited as a couple.

But the nuptials may not last. Citigroup, which had offered $2.1 billion, refuses to go quietly, accusing Wachovia, essentially, of breaching its promise. In the latest tortured twists, Citi filed a lawsuit Monday, seeking more than $60 billion in damages, then agreed to a standstill on all litigation.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve was pressing for a Solomonic compromise. Wachovia’s northeast and mid-Atlantic branches would go to Citigroup. Wells Fargo would get the California and Southeast branches.

That plan is neither in the best interests of Wachovia or North Carolina. Wells Fargo is the superior match for Wachovia, hands down.

Both banks traditionally have been conservative and well-run. Each neatly complements the other geographically. Most of Wells Fargo’s branches are located in the West, most of Wachovia’s in the East.

Both have strong brand names and reputations for integrity, customer service and cool-headed business practices — at least until Wachovia fell prey to the mortgage-lending crisis. Remember, when larger First Union acquired Wachovia in 2001, it so valued Wachovia’s brand that it took on the smaller company’s name.

And, as one of only a few major banks that have remained profitable during the credit crisis, Wells Fargo is healthier than either Wachovia or Citigroup. As significantly, the deal likely would mean Wachovia would keep more jobs in North Carolina. That’s not as clear a possibility in a merger with Citigroup.

Now, hardly anything is clear, except the stakes. Wachovia would have had its assets seized by the government had no one stepped forward to buy it. It employs 120,000 workers nationwide, 20,000 in Charlotte, where it’s a major player in the community and the economy. The financial services and insurance industries accounted for $5.6 billion, or 20 percent of Charlotte’s private wages, in 2007. The bank also employs 3,000 workers in its former home city of Winston-Salem, where its white, domed skyscraper still dominates the skyline.

Who ultimately will get Wachovia’s corporate hand? And what will it mean?

It’s hard not to be hopeful. And nervous. And saddened that one of the state’s corporate titans has been humbled so quickly and so completely.

Even so, two suitors are better than one. Three options are better than none.

But one suitor is clearly preferable to the other.