Wachovia: Everyone's on the Same Page' Now.(mortgage unit now under its bank )

In addition to federal preemption from the state and local predatory-lending laws that have proliferated in recent years, moving Wachovia Corp.'s mortgage unit under its bank has brought other benefits, the unit's president says.

The move, which took place in May, has also increased cooperation between mortgage and bank employees, C.D. Davies said in an interview Thursday.

For the first time, he said, "everybody's on the same page. We all report to Ben Jenkins and there's now a partnership between mortgage professionals" and retail bankers. (Benjamin P. Jenkins 3d is the president of the general bank with the parent company.)

Mr. Davies, 38, was …