Founded in 1908 as Union National Bank, First Union was the sixth-largest banking company in the United States as of December 31, 2000. It held assets totaling more than $254 billion, with banking operations in 11 East Coast states and Washington, D.C., and brokerage operations in 47 states nationwide.
Wachovia's institutional capital markets and investment banking business arose from the merger of Wachovia and First Union.