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It's a common gaffe made by people talking about Southern banks. Even this newspaper has been guilty of the faux pas.
But Alice Lehman, director of investor relations for Wachovia Corp., could not have picked a more inopportune time for the miscue.
During the opening moments of an investor conference call June 21 heralding the merger of Wachovia and SouthTrust Corp., it was up to Lehman to introduce the players.
"We're excited about this morning's announcement regarding the merger of Wachovia and SunTrust. On the call with us today . . . " Lehman began, before getting interrupted by others on the line interjecting: "SouthTrust. SouthTrust."
"Excuse me," she added, "merger of Wachovia and SouthTrust."
Unfortunately for Lehman, in this electronic era, mistakes have a way of hanging around. The Webcast of the conference call will be available via Wachovia's Web site (www.wachovia.com) until July 18.