Citigroup has agreed to buy Wachovia's banking operations for $1 a share, a move that that would concentrate power within the nation's banking industry in the hands of a few giant lenders, The New York Times's Eric Dash and Andrew Ross Sorkin reported Monday morning.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said in a statement on Monday that Citigroup will assume Wachovia's senior subordinated debt, and emphasized that Wachovia did not fail.
Although the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department were pushing for a sale, the government was resisting pressure to provide financial guarantees to the buyer, which both Citigroup and Wells Fargo had sought.