Today's Wachovia Corporation was created by the merger of the legacy Wachovia Corporation and First Union Corporation. While the transaction was billed as a merger of equals, the transaction was actually a purchase of the legacy Wachovia by Charlotte-based First Union Corporation. First Union then took the Wachovia name. First Union Corporation was a large banking chain based in Charlotte, North Carolina. It merged with Wachovia Corporation in 2001, and the combined company kept Wachovia's name.