Wells Fargo clinched a strategic victory this week in a deal that will transform the West Coast-focused bank into a national retail banking powerhouse. Fending off an earlier bid from Citigroup after a bitter tug of war, Wells reeled in a $11.7bn all-share acquisition of Wachovia, its east coast rival.

The deal will dramatically expand Wells’ franchise east of the Mississippi River, creating a coast-to-coast network of 12,200 branches – larger than those of Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase. The combined bank will have $1,420bn in assets and $787bn in deposits.