Wachovia Corp. is reorganizing the leadership of real estate businesses within its corporate and investment bank, an area that has suffered in the global credit crunch.The Charlotte bank in March named former retirement products executive Bob Reid head of real estate-related businesses. Now he's setting up a team of top lieutenants that expands to eight from five.
The group handles the making of commercial real estate loans and their packaging into securities for investors, known as commercial mortgage-backed securities, or CMBS.
Spokeswoman Elise Wilkinson on Thursday said the new structure is "flatter," putting Reid closer to various business lines.
The goal is to focus on customer needs, improve efficiency and adjust to changing business volume, she said.
The newly named leaders were already at Wachovia. Earlier this week, the bank disclosed that one top executive in the unit, Robert Verrone, was leaving. He was offered a job in the unit but decided to leave by mutual agreement. Asked whether job cuts could result from the changes, Wilkinson said the bank had no announcements to make "right now."
Wachovia was the No. 1 originator of loans for CMBS in 2007, with total volume of $23.6 billion, according to industry tracker Commercial Real Estate Direct. But the once hot business now has become a trouble spot. Since the middle of last year, Wachovia has taken $1.6 billion in writedowns because of the falling value of CMBS holdings. -- rick rothacker
BofA revs up NASCAR ad campaign
Bank of America Corp. is taking its pitch for race fans to the airwaves.
Starting Monday, the Charlotte bank will begin airing its first NASCAR-themed TV commercial. The 30-second spot touts products such as credit and debit cards bearing the likenesses of top drivers such as Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon.
The commercial, created by BBDO New York, features footage of drivers in action as well as actors portraying rabid fans. The ad will debut in Charlotte as the city prepares for two weeks of racing at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord. Later, it'll air in Atlanta and Dallas, followed by a national run starting in July on ESPN and ABC.
Bank of America sponsors the October race at Lowe's Motor Speedway and bears the title of Official Bank of NASCAR. -- rick rothacker
Countrywide settlement plan nixed
A federal bankruptcy judge has rejected Countrywide Financial Corp.'s proposal to settle accusations that it fabricated evidence used in a bid to foreclose on a home.
Judge Thomas Agresti in Pittsburgh this week dismissed the company's request to settle a dispute with a Pittsburgh-area woman who was threatened with foreclosure by the country's largest home lender. Agresti said he wanted information about the alleged false documents.
Bank of America Corp. agreed in January to buy Countrywide for $4 billion. -- doW JONES/ASSOCIATED PRESS
