Wachovia, Citigroup and Wells Fargo said this afternoon that they have reached an agreement to standstill on all litigation activity effective immediately.

The agreement will terminate at noon on Wednesday, unless extended.

"We are pleased to participate with the Federal Reserve Board in a fair-minded, good faith process to achieve a prompt and successful outcome,” Citi said in a statement.

Citigroup said today that it is seeking $60 billion in damages from Wachovia and Wells Fargo, alleging that Wells Fargo wrongly interfered with Citi's agreement to buy Wachovia.

New York-based Citi said it remains “very excited” about its plan to buy the bulk of Wachovia, and that the Citi-Wachovia deal would have been finalized last Friday “if it had not been subverted by the unlawful conduct of Wachovia, Wells Fargo, and their officers and directors and outside advisors.”

The $60 billion figure stirred ridicule from the Web site wachoviavote.com, which was organized by shareholders who oppose the Citi deal. Citi's offer last week to buy Wachovia for $2.1 billion essentially valued the Charlotte bank at $1 per share. The $60 billion demand “is a pretty twisted way of saying Wachovia is worth $28 a share…,” the Web site said in a post today.

Read the full story at CharlotteObserver.com.