PRESS RELEASES

"We are extremely grateful for the strong support from Wachovia shareholders," said L.M. Baker Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of Wachovia. "We believe based on a preliminary review of the proxies that shareholders by a very significant margin voted in favor of the merger to create the new Wachovia. Clearly, the owners of both companies agree that a Wachovia and First Union combination will provide superior growth and excellent long-term value to shareholders, customers, employees and our communities.

"Wachovia’s dedicated employees are to be commended for maintaining their focus on serving customers during this extraordinary time, and I would like to thank personally the hundreds of employee ambassadors and many others who have played such an important role in reaching out to Wachovia shareholders.

"Since the announcement of our proposed merger in April, teams from Wachovia and First Union have been working in a thoughtful manner to bring our companies together. With the final vote count and regulatory approval, which we also expect shortly, we will be in a position to move forward as the new Wachovia."

Wachovia Corporation, with dual headquarters in Atlanta and Winston-Salem, N.C., is a leading financial holding company serving regional, national and international markets. As of June 30, 2001, Wachovia had assets of $74.8 billion. Wachovia Bank, N.A., the principal subsidiary, has more than 650 offices and 1,350 ATMs primarily in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.

_{This news release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, without limitation, (i) statements about the benefits of the merger between First Union Corporation and Wachovia Corporation, including future financial and operating results, cost savings, enhanced revenues, and accretion to reported earnings that may be realized from the merger; (ii) statements with respect to First Union’s and Wachovia’s plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and other statements that are not historical facts; and (iii) other statements identified by words such as "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "estimates", "intends", "plans", "targets", "projects" and similar expressions. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of First Union’s and Wachovia’s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.}

_{The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in the forward-looking statements: (1) the risk that the businesses of First Union and Wachovia will not be integrated successfully or such integration may be more difficult, time-consuming or costly than expected; (2) expected revenue synergies and cost savings from the merger may not be fully realized or realized within the expected time frame; (3) revenues following the merger may be lower than expected; (4) deposit attrition, operating costs, customer loss and business disruption following the merger, including, without limitation, difficulties in maintaining relationships with employees, may be greater than expected; (5) the ability to obtain governmental approvals of the merger on the proposed terms and schedule; (6) the failure of First Union’s and Wachovia’s stockholders to approve the merger; (7) competitive pressures among depository and other financial institutions may increase significantly and have an effect on pricing, spending, third-party relationships and revenues; (8) the strength of the United States economy in general and the strength of the local economies in which the combined company will conduct operations may be different than expected resulting in, among other things, a deterioration in credit quality or a reduced demand for credit, including the resultant effect on the combined company’s loan portfolio and allowance for loan losses; (9) changes in the U.S. and foreign legal and regulatory framework; and (10) adverse conditions in the stock market, the public debt market and other capital markets (including changes in interest rate conditions) and the impact of such conditions on the combined company’s capital markets and asset management activities. Additional factors that could cause First Union’s and Wachovia’s results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in First Union’s and Wachovia’s reports (such as Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available at the SEC’s Internet site (http://www.sec.gov). All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements concerning the proposed transaction or other matters attributable to First Union or Wachovia or any person acting on their behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements above. First Union and Wachovia do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the forward-looking statements are made.}

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