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Supplement
| HBS Case Collection
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February 2018
Robert K. Steel at Wachovia (B)
by
Gautam Mukunda, Nien-hê Hsieh and David Lane
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Abstract
In September 2008, Robert Steel presided over the sale of Wachovia, a top U.S. bank, less than three months after becoming its CEO. Wachovia’s exposure to risky home loans led depositors and creditors to flee the bank on Friday, September 26, after the FDIC seized and sold a smaller bank with similar exposure, whose collapse nonetheless made it the biggest bank failure in U.S. history. Faced with Wachovia’s impending bankruptcy, the FDIC intervened again, voting on Monday, September 29 to sell Wachovia’s retail bank to Citigroup for $1 a share. Three days later, Wells Fargo offered $7 a share for all of Wachovia. Steel needed to decide whether to honor the terms of the deal and exclusivity agreement already sketched out with Citigroup or to approve a definitive merger agreement with Wells Fargo. Supplements the (A) case.
Keywords: leadership;
Leadership Style;
financial crisis;
Robert Steel;
Wachovia;
Sheila Bair;
Richard Kovacevich;
Wells Fargo;
Vikram Pandit;
Citigroup;
FDIC;
Tim Geithner;
mortgage lending;
crisis management;
contagion;
mergers and acquisitions;
ethics;
financial services;
banking;
Decision Making;
Ethics;
Fairness;
Finance;
Leadership Style;
Crisis Management;
Management Style;
Risk Management;
Negotiation;
Business and Stakeholder Relations;
Banking Industry;
United States;
