Oct. 11--Wells Fargo & Co. may be on a smooth regulatory path -- so far -- toward buying Wachovia Corp.

But analysts said yesterday that it still faces significant obstacles in integrating Wachovia into its network.

Some Wachovia shareholders said that although they are grateful for Wells Fargo's trumping of Citigroup Inc.'s offer, they're going to take a wait-and-see approach toward any long-term relationship.

"I will have to give some thought to the future of Wells Fargo after the deal is done," said Alan Hardman, a Wachovia shareholder from the Northeast.

"Should I dump the stock, or wait it out and roll with the next two or three years with hope to recover some of my losses, which are estimated around $300,000 to $350,000."

But Jon Mack, a Wachovia shareholder from Lewisville, said that Wells Fargo's decision to buy Wachovia "is a glimmer of hope for all local stakeholders, given the latest turbulence in the market."

Wells Fargo officials wouldn't comment on when a vote by Wachovia shareholders would be held and when it would begin integrating the two banks. The banks expect the deal to close by year's end.

Fitch Ratings said in a report yesterday that "while every merger has integration risks, Wells Fargo's track record with large acquisitions has been excellent, which bodes well for its whole-company transaction of Wachovia."

The Federal Trade Commission provided the bank yesterday with an "early termination" of its antitrust reviews, which means that the commission took less than 30 days to complete its review. The bank is pursuing expedited approval of the deal from the Federal Reserve.

Quick regulatory approval is expected considering that Wells Fargo said that its deal for Wachovia requires no federal-government assistance; Citigroup's bid required significant federal help.

Citigroup provided more evidence yesterday of how dire Wachovia's financial status was the weekend before Citigroup made its offer to buy it.

According to The Charlotte Observer, Citigroup said in a court filing that Wachovia had lost $5 billion in deposits on Sept. 26 in a "silent run." That plunge in deposits was a key factor in regulators prodding Wachovia into hastily pursuing a buyer.

The FTC approval came a day after Citigroup bowed out of the competition for Wachovia but vowed to vigorously fight for damages in court for what it considers a breach of its exclusivity agreement with Wachovia. It is asking for $60 billion in damages from Wachovia, Wells Fargo and their boards of directors for interfering with its offer.