There's a New Bank (Name) In Town

What's in a name? If you're a customer of the former  in Hellertown you may be asking yourself that question, in light of your financial institution's recent rebranding as Wells Fargo, following a merger.

The merger between Wachovia and Wells Fargo is part of a longstanding banking industry trend involving the purchasing and rebranding of smaller banks by larger ones.

Before Wachovia Bank was Wachovia it was First Union, and before it was First Union it was CoreStates, and so on and so on.

In Hellertown the familiar blue and white "Wachovia" signs on the stately Georgian facade of the bank branch at Main and Water streets have been replaced with bright yellow "Wells Fargo" signs to herald the change.

A striking red and yellow Wells Fargo sign featuring the bank's trademark stagecoach logo has replaced the more austere Wachovia sign that was located near the street corner.

All throughout the region, Wachovia signs have come down and Wells Fargo signs have gone up during a sign-changing blitz the past few days, according to this report published in the Morning Call.

Credit it to being a 'sign' of the times.