Wachovia Bank, now Wells Fargo, will pay $58.75 million to North Carolina and 25 other states as part of a multistate settlement for its part in a bid rigging scheme that defrauded local governments, hospitals and schools, Attorney General Roy Cooper said Thursday.
 
The settlement resolves allegations that Wachovia defrauded cities and counties, schools, colleges, hospitals and other entities that purchased a type of investment through the bank called municipal bond derivatives.

Banks are test driving yet another fee.

Starting in October in five states, Wells Fargo will charge customers $3 per month if they use their debit card for purchases or payments, Charlotte Observer staff writer Rick Rothacker reports.

Customers can avoid the fee if they don’t use their card or by signing up for certain checking accounts.

The guinea pigs will be customers who opened business and personal accounts in Oregon, New Mexico, Nevada, Georgia and Washington. The test won’t affect Carolinas customers unless they originally opened their accounts in one of those states, Wells spokesman Josh Dunn said.

No decision has been made on whether to expand the pilot program, Dunn said. Wells Fargo bought Charlotte’s Wachovia in 2008 and is converting Carolinas bank branches to the Wells name this fall.

Wells Fargo & Co. is eliminating 310 mortgage jobs in the Carolinas as home loan applications slow, the Charlotte Observer's Rick Rothacker reports.

The biggest cut will affect 259 positions at a mortgage application center in Wilmington, a closure that was disclosed in a state regulatory filing last month.

The remaining jobs are in Raleigh and Fort Mill, S.C., bank spokesman Josh Dunn said. The company declined to provide a breakdown on those two locations.

Carrboro High School holds a top spot in the Wachovia Conference Cup standings after the NCHSAA’s winter season. After a championship in men’s swimming and a runner-up finish in women’s swimming, Carrboro has 84.5 points in the standings for the Carolina 2-A Conference, followed closely behind by Cedar Ridge.
The Wachovia Cup award recognizes the high schools that achieve the best overall interscholastic athletic performance within each of the state’s four competitive classifications. Wachovia has sponsored the conference awards program since 1980.
The Wachovia Conference Cup is a companion to the Wachovia Cup. The Conference Cup is awarded to schools with the best overall interscholastic athletic performance in each individual conference. Points are awarded based upon final standings for each sport in each conference.
In the Carolina 2-A, Cedar Ridge finished second in men’s basketball and third in wrestling, and now has 81.5 points. Men’s basketball conference champion Northwood is in third with 77 points. Other schools are N.C. School of Science and Math (73.5), Durham School of the Arts (63), Raleigh Charter (56), South Granville (44), Granville Central (41.5), River Mill (27), Roxboro Community (10).
In the Carolina 3-A, Cardinal Gibbons (55 points) leads the way after a commanding winter performance, taking a title in women’s basketball, finishing second in men’s and women’s swimming and third in wrestling.
Chapel Hill (52) is close behind in second, with a conference crown in men’s basketball and a runner-up finish in wrestling. The wrestling champion, Orange (38.5), is third, also finishing second in women’s basketball.  Southern Vance (25), Oxford Webb (24.5) and Northern Vance (22) round out the conference.
Jordan has taken over the lead in the Piedmont Athletic 4-A Conference, passing fall leader East Chapel Hill. Jordan won the PAC-6 championship in men’s basketball and delivered second-place performances in men’s and women’s swimming to earn 60 points. Second-place East Chapel Hill (55.5) swept the PAC-6 swimming championships.

The timing of the Duke Energy and Progress Energy merger has been unfortunate for downtown Raleigh property owners looking to sell.

Although the merger may not end up affecting property values downtown all that much, the uncertainty caused by the merger could make a nearby building tougher to sell.

Now consider the plight of 227 Fayetteville Street, the 10-story building that is the former regional headquarters for Wachovia.

On Jan. 31, a 50-year ground lease between Wachovia and the owners of the land will expire.

At that point, ownership of the 100,000-square-foot building and the land will revert back to the families of the original owners, Morton Rosenfeld and Milton Schwarz of New York City.

The building, built in 1964, is now up for sale. The owners are open to either selling or signing another long-term ground lease.
 

Taking another step as it digests its acquisition of Wachovia, Wells Fargo plans to close a finance division that specialized in subprime loans.

The move to close its 638 Wells Fargo Financial offices nationwide will have a small local impact. The bank's Web site lists 12 offices in North Carolina, including two in the Triangle: 6815 Fayetteville Road in Durham and 4701 Creedmoor Road in Raleigh.

Wells Fargo will also eliminate 3,800 jobs in the division. It expects to assign the rest of the 14,000 Wells Fargo Financial employees to other parts of the bank.

Wells Fargo said that the finance division was no longer needed following its 2008 acquisition of Charlotte-based Wachovia, which increased its number of branches across the United States to 6,600.

Who's that woman on Wachovia's ATMs?

The Charlotte-based bank is honoring North Carolina's Teacher of the Year, Monroe Spanish teacher Jessica Garner, on the screens of most of its 627 ATMs statewide. Customers will see her photo and can push a few buttons to learn more about her.

Besides the feel-good marketing, the move is part of a larger effort by Wachovia to showcase its souped-up ATMs. The bank, which is owned by Wells Fargo, recently converted its North Carolina ATMs to high-tech Wells Fargo machines.

A Durham native who was a key figure during the global financial meltdown could soon have a new role advising New York City's mayor on economic development.

The New York Post reported that Robert K. Steel, who graduated from Duke University, is the leading contender to become Michael Bloomberg's economic development chief. The newspaper cited unidentified sources.

SunTrust Banks has recruited a veteran executive from a top rival to run its central Carolina region, which includes the Triangle.

The Atlanta-based company today announced that David Stevens will become CEO of the region on June 14. SunTrust's central Carolina region includes 131 branches along I-40 from Wilmington to Morganton, including 67 the Triangle.

Stevens, 51, began working for the bank now known as Wells Fargo-Wachovia more than 28 years ago after graduating from Elon University. He grew up in Fayetteville.

At SunTrust, Stevens replaces John Stallings, 43, who lives in Raleigh and is a native of Durham. Stallings has been promoted to CEO of SunTrust's Mid-Atlantic division, where he'll oversee Stevens as well as three divisions in Virginia. He is moving to Richmond.

Remember David Abels, the Mommy Hook entrepreneur in Carrboro who became enraged when his bank told him it was no longer lending to existing customers?

Well, Abels reports that his bank, Wachovia/Wells Fargo, has increased his credit line from $25,000 to $50,000.

Abels had been seeking a small-business credit line of $100,000 but he reports that he is happy with what he received.

And since the story ran about Abels ordeal with Wachovia, he's been contacted by five or six other banks offering him their services.

"I don't know if I would switch entirely because I have a history with Wachovia," Abels said. "But BB&T is definitely courting me."