Another bank merger
The dominos keep falling. As the large national banks keep growing, the regional banks feel compelled to keep up. This makes them better able to compete, and it also makes them even better candidates for takeover themselves.
The latest involves two New York state banks. North Fork Bancorp has agreed to buy GreenPoint Financial in a $6.3 billion deal. North Fork is stronger in commercial banking, especially for small businesses. while Green Point is bigger in consumer banking and mortgages. GreenPoint, New York's second largest savings and loan company, has 80 branches in the New York City area, while North Fork has 170 branches. North Point already has in the works the purchase of the Trust Company of New Jersey, which has around 70 locations, including supermarket branches as well as well as regular banks throughout Northern New Jersey.
North Fork outbid the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) for GreenPoint. RBS alreday has a major regional presence in the Northeastern US, with its Citizen's Bank subsidiary. Other rumored suitors were the UK's Barclay's Bank and HSBC. All three British banks have announced an interest in expanding in the US, and, given the falling dollar, US banks now look like a bargain. In this case, however, North Fork was willing to bid higher.
While Chase (part of J.P. Morgan Chase) and Citibank (part of Citigroup) are the dominant players in the New York market, the new bank will offer them serious competition. That might just tempt another bank with little New York presence to gobble up North Fork in turn. The whole may be worth a lot more than the parts.
7:33:37 PM 
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