NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Wachovia Corp. said Tuesday that it has hired Goldman Sachs Group to review its loan portfolio, another sign that the bank is bracing for further mortgage-related trouble when it reports earnings next month.

“Goldman Sachs is performing analytics on our loan portfolio to evaluate various alternatives,” said Christy Phillips-Brown, a spokeswoman for [...]

 
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) certified Wachovia’s (NYSE: WB) bank branch prototype in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for retail commercial interiors under the USGBC’s recently launched LEED Portfolio program. Seattle-based Callison Design, a leading international retail design firm, developed the Wachovia model and shaped the criteria for the new LEED [...]

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has placed Wachovia Corp. high on its radar screen for a potential acquisition, CNBC reports, citing insiders with the New York bank.
A spokeswoman for Wachovia couldn’t be reached for comment.
On June 2, when Ken Thompson was ousted as Wachovia CEO, several Wall Street analysts speculated the move could lead to a [...]

Wachovia Corp. is making changes to its controversial “pick-a-payment” mortgage loans and eliminating loans that can lead to higher loan balances over time for borrowers.
The changes effectively spell the end of the Pick-A-Pay product that Wachovia acquired with its purchase of Golden West Financial Corp. Effective immediately, the bank is discontinuing the minimum-payment option on [...]

Europe’s banks need to head back out on the fund-raising circuit. They may have to bring in as much as $141 billion, according to Goldman Sachs. Reuters writes that this capital will be necessary “to reach an aggregate Tier I ratio of 9 percent — a level achieved by European banks that have recapitalized recently.”
Since [...]

Wachovia Corp. has dropped advertising agency Mullen from the bank’s review of its estimated $120 million advertising account.
Massachusetts-based Mullen had handled Wachovia’s business for more than a decade.
“Wachovia appreciates and values the partnership we have had with Mullen for the past 12 years,” a Wachovia spokeswoman says. “The agency served us well during a time [...]