Wachovia on Wednesday reported a $23.9bn third-quarter loss and revealed details of a run on commercial deposits that preceded its sale to west coast rival Wells Fargo.

The bank said toward the end of the quarter, its corporate customers withdrew more than $26bn, or 24 per cent of their deposits. This reflected uncertainty following the failure of Washington Mutual on September 25, Wachovia said, and underscored the pressure it was under to find a buyer quickly.