Wachovia Forms RE Services Group

Wachovia Securities, Charlotte, N.C., has created a real estate services group and named Leslie Fairbanks to head the unit.Wachovia said the new unit will include its commercial real estate services group, which services a portfolio of commercial mortgages and commercial mortgage-backed securities; a tax credit investment asset management group; and an asset and portfolio management group that handles special servicing assignments. Ms. Fairbanks will report to Bill Green, head of Wachovia's real estate capital markets unit. "Mortgage servicing and tax credit investment asset management are core businesses in our commercial real estate finance platform, and aligning these businesses is part of a natural evolution," Mr. Green said. Ms. Fairbanks was previously a managing director in Wachovia's structured finance group, the company said. In a related development, Alan Kronovet has been named head of Wachovia's commercial real estate services group.