Bloomberg.com: U.S.

Bloomberg.com: U.S.: "Wachovia CEO Robert Steel, 57, stands to benefit from any improvement in bids for Wachovia. Recruited from the Treasury department in July to rebuild the lender's credibility with investors, he bought 1 million shares of Wachovia stock for about $16 million two weeks after arriving at the company.

Wells Fargo's bid won endorsement from stakeholders including Davis Selected Advisers LP, the Dodge & Cox mutual fund group and the Sandler family, according to a statement. The Sandlers sold Golden West Financial Corp. to Wachovia in 2006 for about $24 billion, when Wachovia was run by CEO Kennedy Thompson. The unit's option ARM home loans have since been blamed for contributing to Wachovia's record quarterly losses and Thompson lost his job."