Wachovia details past ties to slavery

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A Charleston bank that later became part of Wachovia Corp. routinely accepted slaves as collateral for loans in the years before the Civil War. Another Wachovia predecessor built a railroad through northeast Georgia with the labor of hundreds of slaves, some of whom it owned.

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The report documents the profits made by some of Wachovia's predecessors through the use of African Americans as property. Wachovia also released an apology to "all Americans and especially to African-Americans and people of African descent." "We are deeply saddened," Chairman and CEO Ken Thompson said in the statement

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But Alderman Dorothy Tillman, who wrote the Chicago law, said Wachovia may still have a problem because the company filed a statement in January claiming no profits from slavery.

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JPMorgan Chase & Co. said in January that two Louisiana banks loosely tied to the modern bank accepted slaves as loan collateral. The company established a $5 million scholarship fund for African American students from the state.

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/business/industries/11793550.htm