Citigroup Inc. reeled in Wachovia Corp., and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. scooped up the assets of Washington Mutual Inc., so what's left for Wells Fargo & Co.? The San Francisco-based bank was seen by industry experts as likely to link up with either Wachovia or WaMu, but now those windows of opportunity have slammed shut. Now experts are pointing to Wells Fargo as an potential acquirer of smaller regional banks as it looks to boost its deposit base.
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The regional banks likely to be most prominent on Wells Fargo's radar screen are National City, Regions Financial Corp. and Fifth Third Bancorp. Each of the trio's stock price rebounded Tuesday after dramatic falls on Monday following Congress'
defeat of a federal bailout package for the crippled U.S.
financial industry.
Of the three regional banks, Regions Financial seems to have the strongest balance sheet, generating around $500 million in profit so far this year, with $206 million coming in the second quarter. On the other hand, National City posted a loss of $1.78 billion in the second quarter, while Fifth Third registered a $202 million loss in the same time period. - Gerald Magpily
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See San Francisco Business Times article
