Wachovia

Wachovia's 2008 forced sale to Wells Fargo demonstrates how one bad acquisition can destroy a century-old institution. The 2006 purchase of Golden West Financial brought $122 billion in option-ARM mortgages—loans that allowed borrowers to pay less than interest owed. When housing collapsed, those loans became massive losses. Like a whale that swallows a poisoned fish, Wachovia's acquisition proved fatal.