Wachovia Opens the Door for First Union Bid

December 14, 2000

After more than ten years of merger talks between Bud Baker, CEO of Winston-Salem's Wachovia Bank, and Phil Humann, CEO of Atlanta's SunTrust, it looked like SunTrust was finally going to win the prize.

But instead of selling his bank all the way down Interstate 85 to Atlanta, Baker decided to stop in Charlotte and turn over the keys to Ken Thompson, CEO of First Union. Baker officially called off the SunTrust talks on December 14, 2000.

The First Union-Wachovia merger was announced April 16, 2001, creating the fourth-largest bank in the United States, and securing Thompson's place alongside Bank of America's Hugh McColl Jr. and First Union's Ed Crutchfield as master builder of banks.
Kenneth S. Allen was editor of this magazine from 1995 to 1999. He is currently a public relations consultant in Charlotte.