Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) and Wachovia Corporation (NYSE:WB) said today they have signed a definitive agreement for the merger of the two companies including all of Wachovia’s banking operations in a whole company transaction requiring no financial assistance from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other government agency.

Under the agreement, Wells Fargo will acquire all outstanding shares of common stock of Wachovia in a stock-for-stock transaction. In the transaction, Wells Fargo will acquire all of Wachovia Corporation and all its businesses and obligations, including its preferred equity and indebtedness, and all its banking deposits.

Under terms of the agreement, which has been approved unanimously by the boards of both companies, Wachovia shareholders will receive 0.1991 shares of Wells Fargo common stock in exchange for each share of Wachovia common stock. The transaction, based on Wells Fargo’s closing stock price of $35.16 on October 2, 2008, is valued at $7.00 per Wachovia common share for a total transaction value of approximately $15.1 billion. Wachovia has almost 2.2 billion common shares outstanding. The agreement requires the approval of Wachovia shareholders and customary approvals of regulators.

Interview with Wells Fargo CFO Howard Atkins. Wells Fargo Net Rose 4% Today.

Wells Fargo Income Gains 4% on Credit Card and Loan Fees. Both Commercial and Consumer Loans Rose vs. Last Year and Last Quarter.

Wells Fargo, U.S. Bancorp. Oct. 16, 2007. 09:04 AM EST. Wells Fargo Income Gains 4% on Credit Card, Loan Fees; U.S. Bancorp Earnings Drop 2.2% on Higher Bad Loan Provisions

Merrill Lynch Downgrades Wells Fargo, Keycorp, and Regions Financial

Merrill Analyst Cuts Profit Forecast for Banks. Sep. 04, 2007. 12:00 PM EST. Merrill’s Najarian Cuts Estimates Below Consensus, Sees 60% Chance of Recession; Employment at Agencies Down 3.3% for Year in July

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage has decided to make “day to day decisions” on the pricing and availability of third-party-originated Alt A Mortgage Market loans in response to a dampening in demand for the product in the capital markets.

“These loans currently are perceived to carry more risk,” Wells said in a statement. The company defines alt-A loans as those that “may include less than full documentation and other factors that tie to property type, debt ratio and credit scores.”

J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Although Borrowers Say Their Primary Mortgage Lenders Are More Flexible About Late Payments, Mortgage Customers Still Believe Lenders are Generally Less Accommodating Than They Could Be

BB&T Ranks Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Primary Mortgage Services

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., Aug. 1 /PRNewswire/ — Amid the turmoil in the housing market and mortgage markets, mortgage customers who report making at least one late payment in the past 12 months indicate that lenders are showing some flexibility in scheduling late payments, but tend to be less understanding and accommodating of their circumstances when compared to 2006, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Primary Mortgage Servicer Study(SM) released today.

Credit, Loan Size or Loan To Value - Do NOT Matter

The study finds that while borrowers who have made late payments indicate their lenders are slightly more flexible in scheduling payments, customer ratings for the ability of lenders to understand their specific circumstances and their willingness to work with them declined from the 2006 study.

Interview with Wells Fargo’s Institutional Lending Head Michael Lepore makes his excuses.

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Breaking News: Wells Fargo Closing Nonprime Wholesale Lending Business Bloomberg-Clip - (BLOOM-Clip) Jul. 26, 2007. 12:00 PM EST 170 Positions to Be Impacted - Locations to Be Closed in Des Moines, IA and Baton Rouge, LA

Alternative Lending Wholesale Division to Close

Continued challenges in the nonprime market have made it impossible to generate acceptable returns that are commensurate with the risks in the Wholesale Alternative Lending business. Because we expect this trend to continue for the foreseeable future, we have made the very difficult decision to discontinue doing nonprime lending in Wholesale, and to focus only on prime lending in this channel.

Effective on Thursday, July 26 at 5 p.m. CT, we will no longer accept new applications through our Wholesale Alternative Lending channel. A Newsflash will be sent to clients around 11 a.m. CT today.

Wells Fargo remains committed to making credit accessible to a wide spectrum of consumers, where consistent with our responsible lending practices. We will continue to follow our controlled, profitable growth strategy and sustain our industry leading position by offering nonprime loans through channels that enable direct access to consumers. Prospects for these businesses which include Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Retail, and Wells Fargo Financial continue to be promising.

Impacts to Team Members

Unfortunately, the decision to close our Wholesale Alternative Lending business will result in impacts to the team, including shutting down nonprime sales, nonprime support staffs for operations and sales, and closing our nonprime operations facilities in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Des Moines, Iowa. The affected team members were notified earlier this morning.

This change is particularly difficult because of all the great work this talented and tenured team has contributed to our organization. I extend my deepest thanks on behalf of Wells Fargo to the entire team for your service and dedication over the years. We are working with other areas within Wells Fargo 80+ businesses to try to find placements in other businesses, where possible. In Baton Rouge, where the company does not have a considerable presence, we are working with other employers to find local opportunities.

Changes in Senior Management
Along with this change, we will be making additional adjustments in the leadership of our Prime organization to increase efficiencies. Effective immediately, Jim Wyble will be the National Sales Manager for our prime Wholesale channel, reporting to Kathleen Vaughan. Jim, Kathleen and I will provide clarification about additional changes in our organizational structure as final decisions are made.

Impacts to Clients
Wholesale Alternative Lending clients will receive a Newsflash outlining the closure and instructions for loans in pipeline. All loans will be required to close prior to 5 p.m. CT on August 31, 2007. For now, loans will be fulfilled in Baton Rouge or Des Moines. Further instruction will be provided as needed.

We remain committed to serving the needs of all of our clients and their customers in a manner that reflects our commitment to responsible lending principles, and controlled, profitable growth. To the extent that we can reach our Alternative Lending clients with our resultant product set, we will do so.

These have been challenging times and I commend our entire organization both within IL and our support teams and partners throughout HCFG for working through these changes. Great companies persevere through challenging times. There is no doubt that we are one of those great companies, and that we will weather the current cycle facing the mortgage industry.