CFO Wurtz is leaving Wachovia

The move comes two weeks after Bob Steel was hired as CEO to help restore the struggling bank. In the first high-profile casualty under the new Wachovia regime, the bank announced Thursday evening that its chief financial officer is leaving. Tom Wurtz, one of former chief executive Ken Thompson's top lieutenants, is the bank's top number cruncher and its primary face to analysts and investors. He became CFO a few months before Wachovia's ill-fated purchase of Golden West Financial Corp. in 2006. His departure comes two days after Wachovia announced an $8.9 billion quarterly loss and a turnaround plan that includes transforming the mortgage unit and cutting more than 10,000 jobs. It comes two weeks after a new chief executive, Bob Steel, was brought in to clean house and restore the struggling bank to its former glory. Wurtz,... [read full story]