Wachovia Purchase Intended to Calm Investors

According to an article in the New York Times, Citigroup Inc. acquired Wachovia over the weekend for roughly $2.2 billion, consolidating “Americans’ bank deposits in the hands of just three banks: Bank of America, J.P. Morgan, and Citigroup.” While Wachovia did not fail, Citigroup Inc. purchased the financial institution on an “open-bank basis with assistance from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (F.D.I.C.)” This transaction is an attempt to restore confidence in the U.S. financial market in light of the ongoing credit crisis and urgent actions of lawmakers on Capitol Hill, who just released finalized drafts of a bailout bill that will be voted on in Congress later today.

Read F.D.I.C. Chairman Sheila Blair’s press statement on the sale of Wachovia to Citigroup.