Wells Fargo has finally erased the Wachovia name from Connecticut and New York banks and replaced it with its own.
The California-based bank, officially changed the name of Wachovia branches in the two states this past week. For two months the branches have had Wells Fargo signs covered by Wachovia vinyl signs, allowing for the branches to all change on a single day.
Wells Fargo acquired the North Carolina-based Wachovia after the financial collapse of 2008. In January 2009, Wachovia Corp. merged with Wells Fargo and Co. in the largest bank merger in U.S. history. A then troubled Citibank had entered a bid to take Wachovia, but Wells Fargo was able to step in and offer a more desirable deal to acquire Wachovia for $15.1 billion in stock.
Since then, Wells Fargo has been converting Wachovia operations in the West, Midwest, South, Delaware and New Jersey. Throughout 2011, the company will convert Wachovia operations in Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Pennsylvania locations will change over in April.
“We”™re proud that, after much work to streamline the change over, Wells Fargo has officially arrived in Connecticut and gained customers in New York,” said Michelle Lee, Wells Fargo”™s northeast regional president for New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey. “Our team members have been planning and working for almost two years with the goal of a smooth transition.”
Lee said the bank has had customer service lines devoted to change-over issues for months.
Joe Kirk, Wells Fargo”™s New York and Connecticut regional president, said about a half-million customers in Westchester and Fairfield counties can now take advantage of 150 Wells Fargo branches and 200 ATMs.
“To ensure a smooth transition, customers have been and can continue to use their existing Wachovia checks and deposit slips until they run out. And they can use the same debit card until it expires or they receive a new one,” Kirk said.
Wells Fargo has added more than 100 jobs across Connecticut, most in community banking. Kirk said customers now have expanded choices in checking and savings accounts and other products ranging from renters and auto insurance to identity theft prevention. ATMs that accept stacks of cash or checks without needing paper envelopes or deposit slips, once a Wachovia feature, have now been installed in all Wells Fargo locations.
Wachovia had been in New York and Connecticut since 2001 when it merged with First Union, another North Carolina bank, which came to the area in 1995 when it acquired Stamford Northeast Bancorp.
