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Thursday, Oct. 1, 1998
NationsBank, BankAmerica shareholders OK merger
Seven local branches to take BankAmerica name
By PAUL NOWELL
Associated PressCHARLOTTE, N.C. -- NationsBank consummated its merger with BankAmerica Wednesday, creating the largest bank in the United States.
The new bank, which will keep the BankAmerica name, becomes the country's first coast-to-coast bank, with branches from North Carolina to California. It will have $572 billion in assets and serve 30 million households and 2 million businesses.
``Our people feel very good about this deal,'' said NationsBank spokesman Bob Stickler. ``We're bringing together the best franchise in the east with the best one in the west. It's an enormous project.''
(NationsBank has seven branches in Corpus Christi and local deposits of more than $650 million. BankAmerica had no local branches before the merger.
(NationsBank entered the Corpus Christi market in 1990 by acquiring three failed branches from NBC-San Antonio. In March, 1994, it acquired Corpus Christi National Bank.)
The NationsBank-BankAmerica merger establishes Charlotte once again as one of the country's leading financial centers, ranking with much larger cities such as New York and San Francisco. Down the street from the 60-story NationsBank building is the headquarters of First Union Corp., the nation's sixth-largest bank.
The merger passed its final hurdle last Thursday when shareholders from both banks overwhelmingly approved the combination.
In his remarks at a special shareholders' meeting in Charlotte, NationsBank chief executive officer Hugh McColl said he was excited about the possibilities of adding California and its 35 million residents and the Pacific Northwest to the franchise.
``Filling in this piece of the puzzle will complete our dominance across the high-growth crescents of the southern and western United States,'' he said. ``So there is no question in my mind that this is the right deal and BankAmerica is the right partner.''
Last month, the merger won final regulatory approval from the Federal Reserve.
The new bank moves ahead of Chase Manhattan Corp. as the nation's largest commercial bank. It will be headquartered in Charlotte and headed by McColl, who will serve as chairman and CEO. David Coulter, BankAmerica's chief executive officer and chairman, will be president of the new bank.
The new bank will operate 4,800 branch offices in 27 states and 38 countries, and more than 14,000 automated teller machines. It will control 8 percent of the nation's federally insured deposits -- or $1 out of every $12 Americans put in the bank.
The new entity may enjoy its No. 1 ranking only temporarily. An even larger merger between Citicorp and the insurance and securities giant Travelers Group is pending.
The mergers come at a turbulent time for U.S. bank stocks that began with problems in overseas markets.
When the NationsBank-BankAmerica merger was announced last spring, the lofty prices of bank stocks made the deal worth about $66 billion. But due to a subsequent decline in NationsBank shares, the value has dwindled to $37 billion.
Staff writer Jeffrey Tomich contributed to this report.Post your comments about local news eventsFront Page || Main Index || News || Business || Texas || South Texas Outdoors || Birdwatching || Sports || Entertainment || Selena || Education || South Texas Attractions || World Wide Web