Wachovia Brokers' Agita Grows After Wells Fargo Acquisition

Wells Fargo and Wachovia are now one, or so trumpets a new prime-time commercial spot. Though the merger is consummated and there's talk of a new official brand name for the company's newly combined financial-advisor practice (possibly to be called Wells Fargo Investments), roughly 20,000 Wachovia reps are getting anxious about retention bonuses that not only haven't been paid -- they haven't even been announced.

When brokerage firms acquire one another, it's routine -- even in bear markets -- for the acquiring firm to hand out stay-put bonuses, lest they lose their top producers to rivals. Wachovia Securities' top executive, Danny Luderman, indicated to his force via conference calls last fall that some sort of bonuses were pending.

Brokers were later told to expect details on the packages -- such as how large they'd be -- by Jan. 15, one Manhattan-based Wachovia broker tells me. Adds another New York City area Wachovia broker: "I think they're waiting for our books to hit bottom so they can figure out a way to pay us less." This second individual added that he's hanging around for now, but said at least one other broker in his office has bolted for a rival.

The flight from Wachovia is nary a trickle, but with the brokerage industry in a state of considerable flux -â€" Citigroup, which owns Smith Barney, is looking to team up with Morgan Stanley â€"- it wouldn't be surprising to see more Wachovia reps leap from the Wells Fargo wagon before the bonus situation is resolved. Wells Fargo seems content to bide its time; when I asked a Wells Fargo spokeswoman about it, she passed the request along to Wachovia spokeswoman, who said: "At this time, while we are in discussions about broker retention, we have not made any decisions on the topic."

Though there's recently been some indication that old-fashioned stockbrokers were back in demand, the Wells Fargo foot dragging on pay packages is just another sign of the difficult times in financial services and the job market in general.