Wachovia execs due hefty severance pay

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov. 25 (UPI) -- Ten top executives at North Carolina's Wachovia Corp. could receive nearly $100 million in severance pay if displaced by a Wells Fargo merger, records show.

Several executives are keeping their jobs and won't take part in the $98.1 million golden parachute contracts stipulate, The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer reported Tuesday.

Golden parachutes -- hefty severance packages given to executives when they leave companies -- have been frequently criticized since the financial crisis began.

Wachovia lost $24 billion in the third quarter this year but managed to survive by selling itself to Wells Fargo. The executive agreements assume the sale will be complete Dec. 31, the Observer said.

Wachovia spokeswoman Christy Phillips-Brown said only executives who leave because of the merger would receive severance pay.

Wachovia's Chief Executive Officer Bob Steel, who joined the bank in July, wasn't scheduled for severance pay because he has no employment agreement in place, the Observer said.

Leaving the bank at the end of the year are Vice Chairman Ben Jenkins, corporate and investment bank chief Steve Cummings, Chief Financial Officer David Zwiener, general counsel Jan Sherburne and human resources chief Shannon McFayden, the newspaper said.