The immediate highlight of the deal, announced in statements by the banks Friday, is it will be carried out without the backing of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Citigroup earlier this week agreed to buy the Wachovia banking operations with the backing of the government body.
The longer-term impact is that once the financial crisis fades the U.S. will be left with four banking giants with more than $1 trillion in assets and transcontinental branch networks -- Citigroup, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp. and the enlarged Wells Fargo. -
Peter MoreiraSee full story on TheDeal.com
