WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Wells Fargo's chief executive on Wednesday praised the legacy Wachovia workers established in this North Carolina city that was home to the regional bank called Wachovia before its 2001 merger with a larger rival in Charlotte.

But, as with his visit to Charlotte last month, John Stumpf made no promises about job security and offered little other information about Wells Fargo's plans after it takes over its East Coast partner.

Meanwhile, North Carolina Treasurer Richard Moore said the state's pension fund will vote its shares in opposition to the merger, which he called "highway robbery."

The San Francisco-based bank has said it plans to maintain an East Coast headquarters in Charlotte after it completes the merger, reached at a time Wachovia was on the brink of collapse in early October. Wells Fargo also has said it plans to cut costs by $5 billion a year at the combined company.

The acquisition, now valued at $12.7 billion in stock, is expected to close by Dec. 31.

More than 1,500 of Wachovia's 3,000 Winston-Salem employees were on hand for Stumpf's 25-minute address in a hotel ballroom, the Winston-Salem Journal reported. Stumpf was greeted with a loud round of applause that seemed to surprise him.

"We're going to take the best of both banks," Stumpf said. "We're going to create something better than either one could have been alone.

He said the combined Wells Fargo-Wachovia bank's future would come from winning over new customers.

"I've seldom had someone come to us and say they want to be a customer because we're so doggone big. It's one-on-one, street-corner-to-street-corner relationships," he said.

Stumpf praised the leadership of John Medlin, the chairman and chief executive officer of Wachovia prior to its 2001 merger with First Union. That $14.6 billion combination created the fourth-largest U.S. banking company, with operations from Florida to Connecticut. The combined bank took the Wachovia name.

Winston-Salem remained the home base for Wachovia's wealth management division, which employs about 600 in the city.

Moore said he will instruct the North Carolina pension fund to use the 3.2 million shares of Wachovia it owns to vote against the Wells Fargo merger, The Charlotte Observer reported. Wachovia's share prices have fallen more than 85 percent in the past year, meaning the pension fund has lost more than $100 million on its investment in the bank.

Moore also said he will issue a letter supporting a lawsuit filed last month by New York law firm Wolf Popper challenging Wachovia's decision to grant Wells Fargo preferred shares that represent 40 percent of the shareholder voting power.

"Some provisions have to be against the law, or shareholders will never be protected," Moore said. "If that deal is so good, you shouldn't have to give away 40 percent of the vote."

Wachovia has said it will fight the lawsuit, which the bank said lacks merit.