Wachovia Suffers Huge Loss, Exits Wholesale

Wachovia Corp., the nation's 14th-largest wholesale originator, revealed Tuesday morning that it will exit that channel and shed thousands of mortgage-related jobs. The move was announced in tandem with an earnings report showing a stunning $8.86 billion loss in the second quarter. Overall, the Charlotte, N.C.-based Wachovia will shed 6,350 jobs. It said 1,000 mortgage workers will be "redeployed" to help Wachovia customers refinance "Pick-a-Pay" loans, a product the bank became heavily involved in when it bought World Savings of Oakland, Calif., two years ago. Wachovia blamed the huge losses on writedowns on its "commercial, corporate lending, and investment banking subsegments." Wachovia's investment banking arm was a huge player in the market for mortgage collateralized debt obligations.