Wachovia May Face $1B Charge After Court Ruling

NEW YORK -- Wachovia Corp. on Wednesday said it expects to take an $800 million to $1 billion second-quarter charge because of a federal appeals court ruling relating to the tax treatment of leveraged lease transactions, Reuters reported.

The after-tax, non-cash charge would follow a Tuesday decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in a case involving BB&T Corp., Reuters reported

Wachovia said the ruling and applicable accounting standards require it to update its assessment of transactions it entered into from 1999 to 2003 involving lease-to-service contracts and leases of technological equipment. The bank said it stopped originating these transactions in 2003, Reuters reported.

-- NYSSCPA.org News Staff

Posted on 4/30/08