Wachovia CEO Robert Steel Enters At Bank’s 17-Year Low Point

BusinessWeek put it best today, pointing out that Wachovia hit a 17-year low just as new CEO Robert Steel starts his $1.1m per year base salary job. Steel has been the Treasury Department’s link with Wall Street since 2006, and is a former Goldman Sachs exec as well. His hire comes about two weeks after Goldman was hired to audit Wachovia’s loan portfolio. The bank denied rumors that Goldman was interested in acquiring Wachovia. We tend to agree: they’d be better off taking fees from advising some other M&A scenario.