Board member Casteen on Wachovia: ‘Talk to them’
On Monday, September 29, the day banking giant Wachovia was in the depths of its monumental stock free-fall and then-pending sale to Citigroup, UVA president and company board member John Casteen was cutting the ribbon on a new dorm at his university. When the Hook asked if he had anything to say about the malaise of the bank he’s paid to govern, his response was brief.
“It’s very sad,” Casteen said, “but you’ll have to talk to them.”
At that point, before the Hook could ask a follow-up, an aide said that Casteen “really has to go.”
This day a year ago, Wachovia stock traded for $52.27 per share. When the market opened this morning, the stock’s value had plummeted to $5.74. According to one analyst, board members like Casteen— who earn six-figure sums for their board work— can’t completely wash their hands of this nosedive.
“The board failed,” says SNL Financial banking analyst Sebastian Hindman, “because (more)



Comments(3)








A page from Gannett Fleming’s successful bid to carry out the community’s 2002 water plan, which the company promptly dumped to embark instead on a 








