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The write-downs of banks because of the credit markets continue to make a big impact on the industry, as the nation's fourth largest bank, Wachovia Corp., ended the third quarter with profits plunging by 10 percent. Losses and write-downs finished at $1.3 billion for the quarter.

"Given the environment we are in now, we plan to remain very disciplined across the organization," Chief Financial Officer Tom Wurtz said in an interview. Wurtz added that some areas they were looking to grow in will be put on hold for now.

Other leaders in the company said there will probably be a decrease in job positions of several hundred before the end of the year.

Net income for the July-September quarter dropped to $1.69 billion, in contrast to last years' $1.88 billion. That's in spite of revenue increasing by 4 percent, to finish at $7.35 billion, up from the $7.04 billion in 2006.

For the weak corporate and investment banking units, earnings disintegrated by 80 percent, with revenue down by 51 percent, ending at $819 million. The corporate unit ended with earnings at $105 million, far below the $428 million of 2006.

The net interest margin, which measures the difference between lending and borrowing costs, declined to 2.92 percent from 3.03 percent.

Earnings for the general bank surged by 33 percent, while revenue increased by 30 percent to $4.5 billion. A lot of that was the result of the acquisition of Golden West Financial Corp., and to a lesser extent increased loans and deposits. It did give the company a stronger presence in California, although shareholders are still concerned about the $24 billion acquisition.

Their other acquisition, A.G. Edwards Inc., wasn't reflected in this quarters results, because the deal closed on October 1.

CEO Ken Thompson said concerning cost and risk containment: "we're taking the appropriate steps to ensure that as markets remain unsettled, we focus intently on actively managing our exposures and controlling costs."
 
He also said the summer's problems with the mortgage markets "clearly had a disappointing impact on the results of market-oriented businesses, but the strength in our core banking and brokerage businesses continued to serve us very well."