Wachovia
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Wachovia Corporation is a large banking chain in the United States. It is number 23 on the Forbes 500 list for 2003, and is the fourth largest bank holding company in the US. Wachovia Bank and Trust was formed in 1911 by the merger of Wachovia National Bank (founded 1879) and Wachovia Loan and Trust (founded 1893), and was located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It later renamed to Wachovia Corporation, and in 2001, merged with First Union Corporation, and the headquarters were moved to Charlotte, North Carolina.
On June 21, 2004, it announced plans to acquire banking competitor SouthTrust Corp. for $14.3 billion. The merger will create the largest bank in the southeast, the fourth largest bank in the United States in terms of holdings, and the second largest in terms of number of branches.
When Wachovia and First Union merged, the multiple skyscrapers with First Union's name came under Wachovia's name. Charlotte, North Carolina's One First Union became One Wachovia Center, and the 55-story First Union tower in Miami became the Wachovia tower. Wachovia Center, built in 1974, retained its name after the merger. The merger also affected the names of the indoor professional sports arenas in Philadelphia. Formerly known as the First Union Center and the First Union Spectrum, they are now known as the Wachovia Center and the Wachovia Spectrum.
"Wachovia" is the Latin form of the German name Wachau. When Moravian settlers arrived in North Carolina in 1753, they gave this name to the land they acquired, because it resembled a valley along the Danube River called Der Wachau.
