a unique brand-building opportunity resulting from a merger
Creating common ground in an uncommon situation
James GarrityWachovia
Picture a tale of two companies experiencing a once-in-a-career brand-building opportunity. In the spring of 2001, a merger of equals between two companies that had competed fiercely for many years in the retail banking arena seemed unthinkable. But when First Union and Wachovia combined to create the nation's fifth largest bank and third largest brokerage firm the unthinkable truly happened. The marriage of the two former adversaries seemed somewhat Shakespearean, yet strangely intriguing. Even more interesting was the decision to keep...