First Union Going to the Whip on Wachovia Deal

First Union (FTU Quote) is pulling away from SunTrust (STI Quote) as their merger battle enters the home stretch.

With a Wachovia (WB Quote) shareholder vote on their $14 billion tie-up just three weeks away, First Union on Thursday served up a solid second quarter, displaying clearly improved results in once-struggling areas including corporate lending, retail banking and expense management.

First Union posted second-quarter earnings of 66 cents a share, beating the Thomson Financial/First Call consensus by 3 cents. On an operating basis, latest-quarter earnings were about 9% below year-ago levels. But those who remember last year's massive charges to shutter and restructure weak business lines are only too happy to see improvement.

Jazzed

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