US bank mergers proliferate
While blockbuster acquisitions like Bank of America's buyout of FleetBank and J.P. Morgan/Chase's purchase of BankOne are not everyday occurrences, smaller bank deals are going on constantly. Smaller local banks and larger regional banks are constantly on the prowl for new acquisitions, and the bigger they get, based on recent history, the more likely they are to attract a buyout from a major national bank.
Many of these deals are pretty small, measured in hundred of million of dollars or less. But they indicate an endless jockeying for marketing position and they are the forerunners to even bigger deals. The sample below covers a few weeks in October this year.
- KeyCorp, a Cleveland-based commercial bank with extensive ATM and financial services, completed its acquisition of Seattle-based Ever Trust, to expand its operations in the Pacific Northwest.
- South Carolina banks First Citizen's Bank and Trust and People's Community Capital announced that they would merge. In fact, the merger is an acquisition by the far larger First Citizen's Bank, part of a banking group that is one of the largest in that state.
- Kentucky's First Citizen's Bank (not be confused with South Carolina's) completed an acquisition of Financial National Electronic Transfer (FINET), a service that processes federal benefit payments and military allotments.
- Vision Bancshares, parent company of Florida's Vision Bank, announced the acquisition of Florida-based BankTrust of Florida.
- Wintrust Financial Corporation of Illinois announced the acquisition of State Bank of the Lakes, also of Illinois. Wintrust owns the following banks and financial institutions: Advantage National Bank, Barrington Bank, Beverly Bank m Crystal Lake Bank, First Insurance Funding Corp , Hinsdale Bank, Lake Forest Bank, Libertyville Bank , North Shore Community Bank, Northbrook Bank, Tricom Inc. (staffing), Village Bank and Trust, Wayne Hummer Investments, WestAmerica Mortgage Company. All its subsidiaries are in the Chicago area,
- First Defiance Bank of Ohio announced the acquisition of Genoa Savings and Loan.
FNB Corporation, which owns the First National Bank of Pennsylvania, announced it will acquire Pittsburgh-based NorthSide Bank.
- Harris Bank, an Illinois-centered unit of Canada's Bank of Montreal, is acquiring northwest Indiana's Mercantile Bancorp, expanding its operations into that state.
- Whitney Holding Company, the parent of Whitney National Bank, has announced it will acquire Florida-based Destin Bank, New Orleans-based Whitney has holding along the Gulf coast from Texas to Florida, Destin Bank's offices are in the Florida panhandle.
- Florida's R-G Crown Bank is buying 18 branches of SouthTrust Bank located in Florida and Georgia. Alabama's SouthTrust is unloading the branches in order to get its merger with Wachovia approved by regulators.
- Mississippi's Hancock Bank announced the acquisition of Mississippi-based insurance firm Ross-King-Walker Inc.
On a more global level, Citigroup will acquire the custody business of Dutch bank ABN Amro in Europe and Asia. Custody is a middleman service provided to other banks to facilitate funds transfer and securities clearing.
11:25:08 AM 
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