Will Wells acquire NCC?

Wells Fargo likely to consider buying struggling Cleveland bank

Excerpts:

Wells Fargo is expected to be on a short list of potential suitors for Cleveland-based National City, which is looking for a buyer as it struggles with bad loans.

Wells (NYSE: WFC), on the other hand, is weathering the financial storm relatively well. The San Francisco bank's leadership has expressed interest in recent weeks in stepping up its pace of acquisition activity. In January, Wells agreed to buy five banks in Wyoming and Idaho from United Bancorp. of Wyoming Inc., of Jackson, Wyo. The bank is still integrating its recent purchase of Greater Bay Banks, which was based in East Palo Alto.

National City's (NYSE: NCC) investment bankers are shopping the troubled bank, according to a Wall Street Journal report Thursday.

Whenever a major bank comes on the market, Wells is often mentioned as a potential suitor given its deep pockets as the nation's fifth-largest bank. But National City's depressed share price and the troubled Midwestern markets it serves might be too appealing for a disciplined buyer like Wells Fargo to pass up.

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National City's branch network includes Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Florida, Missouri and Pennsylvania. The Cleveland bank's branch territory would fit well with National City's dominance in the Midwest.


Comment: I hope Wells Fargo passes on this!