Bloomberg reports that an Oct. 10 note by Standard & Poor's
said that the unit is likely to be "significantly downsized after the
acquisition."
While the $12.2 billion acquisition vaults Wells Fargo further up in the size of deposits, the investment banking unit, which employs 6,000, isn't a good fit with the rest of the San
Francisco bank. And with banks already shedding thousands of i-banking
jobs since the credit crunch began, Wells Fargo may have a tough time
selling Wachovia's corporate and investment banking division to another
bank.
Wachovia is the 14th-ranked underwriter of U.S. bond deals this year
and number 12 in global equity offerings, according to Bloomberg data.
Wells Fargo isn't in the top 30 in either
category. -
George White
See Bloomberg story
Looks like there's more bad news for investment bankers. Only days after winning Wachovia Corp. for $12.2 billion, analysts are predicting that Wells Fargo & Co. is likely to eliminate or downsize the bank's investment banking unit.
