Wells Fargo announced third-quarter earnings of 60 cents per share on $20.9 billion Wednesday. With renewed concerns over mortgages heightened in recent days, the bank said its successful merger with Wachovia and growth in core business lending helped drive its strong quarter. The San Francisco based bank reported net income of $3.2 billion, 19% above 2009’s third quarter. The earnings per share figure beat analysts’ expectations of 55 cents and was one cent better than a year ago. CFO Howard Atkins attributed part of the results to the merger with Wachovia. “”[It] is already proving to be a huge success,” he said of the deal that has earned Wells Fargo a $21.2 billion cumulative profit since closing at the end of 2008.