Fed OKs acquisition of Wachovia

The Federal Reserve on Sunday approved Wells Fargo’s $11.7-billion acquisition of Wachovia Corp., removing the deal’s last major regulatory hurdle.

The Fed’s move comes after federal antitrust regulators also moved swiftly to back San Francisco-based Wells Fargo’s deal to buy the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank, approving it on Friday.

Citigroup Inc. on Thursday walked away from its own efforts to buy Wachovia, which was hit by a $5-billion run on deposits in late September after the failure of Washington Mutual Inc., according to court documents filed by Citigroup.

In a brief statement Sunday, the Fed said it approved Wells Fargo taking on Wachovia along with all its banking and other units. The Federal Trade Commission included the deal on a list of transactions released Friday that received an “early termination” of their antitrust reviews.

Wells Fargo & Co. has said it plans to complete the deal by the end of the fourth quarter. The acquisition still needs Wachovia shareholders’ approval.