Wachovia legal truce gets extension

Wachovia, Wells Fargo and Citigroup have agreed to extend their truce on any litigation until Friday at 8 a.m. Their previous agreement to hold off on more lawsuits expired at noon today. The three companies will continue negotiating Wachovia's sale in consultation with federal regulators. Outside Wachovia headquarters this afternoon, one employee who would identify himself as "Ray" said he and his co-workers are on edge, but still hopeful. "You're always anxious when your business is going to be bought out. But I guess we've done it to other people, so something good could come out of it yet." He says many Wachovia workers would prefer to see Wells Fargo win the bidding war to buy Wachovia because it would likely preserve more jobs in Charlotte. Prior to announcing a deal with Wells Fargo, Wachovia had been negotiating with Citigroup to sell part of its operations for significantly less than Wells Fargo is offering. Citigroup is now suing Wells for $60 billion for breaking up that deal. The FDIC is working with all three banks to negotiate a compromise.