The former CEO did not come right out and say that, but if you read between the lines of Robert Steel’s comments to the feds investigating the 2008 financial meltdown, that is clearly the jist.

The bank under Ken Thompson tried to chase big investment bank profits — and big investment bank bonuses — only to wind up holding a bunch of dreck. And why was Wachovia Securities off trying to boot-strap an investment banking presence? Because after an initial bump of funny-money, the purchase of Golden West had cratered Wachovia’s home mortgage biz.