In August 1997, the privately held Wheat First Butcher Singer agreed to be acquired for just under $500 million by the Charlotte, North Carolina–based First Union bank.

In April 1999, First Union acquired Chicago-based investment bank and brokerage Everen Capital Corp. for $1.1 billion.

[1] Much of the retail brokerage came from Prudential's previous acquisition of Bache & Co.[2] In May 2007, Wachovia Securities announced the purchase of A. G. Edwards of St. Louis, Missouri.

Following the acquisition, as of October 1, 2007, the Wachovia Securities became the second largest brokerage firm in the United States with $1.17 trillion retail client assets under management.

First Union had bought Bowles Hollowell Connor & Co. on April 30, 1998, adding to its merger and acquisition, high yield, leveraged finance, equity underwriting, private placement, loan syndication, risk management, and public finance capabilities.