FleetBoston Merger Completions

On March 1, Fleet National Bank, Providence, RI, merged into BankBoston National Association, Boston, MA, under the charter of BankBoston National Association and the title of Fleet National Bank. The main office will be located in Providence, RI. As of June 30, 1999, Fleet Financial Group, Boston, MA, had total deposits of $42.2 billion and ranked first among all commercial banking and thrift institutions in New England. As of the same date, BankBoston Corporation, Boston, MA, had total deposits of $34.6 billion and ranked second. On April 3, Bank of Boston-Florida, NA, Boca Raton, FL, Fleet Bank F.S.B., Boca Raton, FL, and Fleet Trust , Investment Services Company, N.A., Stuart, FL, merged with Fleet National Bank, Providence, RI, under the charter and title of Fleet National Bank. The transactions are components of FleetBoston Financial Corporation's integration of subsidiaries. (Internal Notice, 3/1; 4/3/00)

On March 29, Summit Bancorp, Princeton, NJ, completed its acquisition of NMBT Corporation, New Milford, CT. As of June 30, 1999, Summit Bancorp, parent company of Summit Bank, Norwalk, CT, had total deposits of $594.7 million and ranked 17th among all commercial banking and thrift institutions in Connecticut. As of the same date, NMBT Corporation, parent company of NMBT, New Milford, CT, had total deposits of $314 million and ranked 29th. On April 15, NMBT, New Milford, CT, merged with Summit Bank, Norwalk, CT, under the charter and title of Summit Bank. (Internal Notice, 4/18; SNL Weekly BankFax, 4/3/00)

On April 8, Webster Bank, Waterbury, CT, purchased six Connecticut branches from Chase Manhattan Bank, New York, NY. The six branches are located in Cheshire, Middlebury, North Haven, Waterbury, and Watertown. As of June 30, 1999, Webster Financial Corporation, Waterbury, CT, parent company of Webster Bank, had total deposits of $5.7 billion and ranked seventh among all commercial banking and thrift institutions in New England. As of the same date, Chase Manhattan Corporation, parent company of Chase Manhattan Bank, had total deposits of $1.9 billion and ranked 15th. The acquisition represents one of many efforts by Webster to acquire more banking deposits in the past year. On December 1, 1999, Webster Financial Corporation completed its acquisition of New England Community Bancorp, Windsor, CT. On December 2, 1999, Webster Financial Corporation signed a definitive agreement to acquire thrift Mech Financial, Inc., Hartford, CT. On November 24, 1999, Webster Financial Corporation, Waterbury, CT, signed a definitive agreement to purchase three Connecticut branches from FleetBoston Financial, Boston, MA, for an undisclosed amount. On May 20, 1999, Webster Financial Corporation, Waterbury, CT, completed its acquisition of Village Bancorp, Inc., Ridgefield, CT. On April 22, 1999, Webster Financial Corporation, Waterbury, CT, completed its acquisition of Maritime Bank , Trust Company, Essex, CT. (American Bkr., 12/3/99; Internal Notice,4/26; 5/24/99; 4/10/00; SNL Weekly BankFax, 4/26; 5/24; 11/29, 12/6; 12/27/99)

On March 28, Union Bankshares Co., Ellsworth, ME, signed a definitive agreement to acquire Mid-Coast Bancorp Inc., Waldoboro, ME. The transaction, which is subject to regulatory and shareholder approval, is expected to be completed in the third quarter. As of June 30, 1999, Union Bankshares Co. had total deposits of $185.1 million and ranked 20th among all commercial banking and thrift institutions in Maine. As of the same date, Mid-Coast Bancorp Inc. had total deposits of $54 million and ranked 35th. (SNL Weekly BankFax, 4/3/00)

On April 12, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (Fed) approved a proposed merger of equals between Dime Bancorp Inc., New York, NY, and Hudson United Bancorp, Mahwah, NJ. The deal, already approved by the FDIC, would combine the two institutions under the name DimeBank. (SNL Weekly BankFax, 4/17/00)

On April 19, Sovereign Bancorp, Inc., Wyomissing, PA, signed definitive agreements to sell 14 branches in north central Pennsylvania containing $190 million in deposits and $88 million in loans, for an undisclosed amount. Northwest Savings Bank, Warren, PA, a unit of Northwest Bancorp Inc., Warren, PA, will acquire nine branches located in Potter and Tioga Counties. First Citizens National Bank, Mansfield, PA, a unit of Citizens Financial Services, Mansfield, PA, will acquire the other five branches, which are located in Bradford County. The transactions are expected to be completed in the third quarter. Sovereign Bancorp has already begun to develop a strong presence in New England. On March 25, Sovereign Bank, Wyomissing, PA, a subsidiary of Sovereign Bancorp, purchased 90 branches, in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, from Fleet National Bank, Providence, RI, in the first phase of divestiture-related acquisitions. Eighty-five of the branches are fully chartered, and five are miscellaneous. The second stage, which will be completed on June 16, consists of Sovereign Bank acquiring 86 Fleet branches in eastern Massachusetts.The final installment, scheduled to close on July 21, would consist of 109 Fleet branches in central Massachusetts and New Hampshire. (SNL Weekly BankFax, 4/24/00)

On April 5, Damman Insurance Associates, Wallingford, CT, a unit of Webster Financial Corporation, Waterbury, CT, acquired insurance broker Follis, Wylie, , Lane, for an undisclosed amount. The insurance broker's operations will be moved to Webster's insurance office in Wallingford, CT. Webster has recently been enlarging its insurance presence; on February 3, Webster acquired, through Damman, The Levine Companies, Waterford, CT, a privately owned insurance agency with offices in Waterford and Norwich, CT. The Levine Companies includes Louis Levine Insurance Agency Inc., Levine Financial Services Inc., and Retirement Planning Associates. Webster entered the insurance agency business in 1998 through its acquisition of Damman, a privately owned insurance agency with offices in Westport and Wallingford, CT. (Business Wire, 2/3; SNL Weekly BankFax, 4/10/00)

On April 11, Chase Manhattan Corporation, New York, NY, announced that it will acquire investment bank Robert Fleming Holdings Ltd., London, U.K. The cash and stock deal, which is difficult to value due to the complexity of London merchant banking, has been valued at prices between $6.9 and $7.7 billion. Fleming has in the past focused on asset management and Asian investment banking. The transaction is expected to be completed by mid-August. The deal reflects Chase's strategy of building its business by making several smaller acquisitions rather than merging with one of the larger banks. On December 9, 1999, Chase completed its acquisition of Hambrecht , Quist Group, San Francisco, CA. (Boston Globe, 4/12; NY Times, 4/12; SNL Weekly BankFax, 4/17/00)

On April 14, Citibank, New York, NY, a unit of Citigroup Inc., New York, NY, agreed in principle to acquire ING Bank's Hungarian retail business, based in Budapest, Hungary. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval. (SNL Weekly BankFax, 4/24/00)

On March 27, Bank of New York Co., New York, NY, completed its acquisition of the corporate trust business of Harris Trust and Savings Bank, Chicago, IL, a subsidiary of Bank of Montreal, Montreal, Canada. (SNL Weekly BankFax, 4/3/00)

On April 12, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released a new study showing that the rapid growth of subprime lending during the 1990s has been disproportionately concentrated in minority and low-income neighborhoods. The HUD study focused primarily on home refinancing loans, which account for 80 percent of subprime loans. The results show that subprime loans are three times more likely in low-income neighborhoods than in high-income neighborhoods, and five times more likely in black neighborhoods than in white neighborhoods. Even homeowners in high-income black areas are twice as likely as homeowners in low-income white areas to have subprime loans. Also on April 12, Rep. John LaFalce, D-NY, and Sen. Paul Sarbanes, D-MD, introduced the Predatory Lending Consumer Protection Act. The bill is intended to attack abusive lending practices aimed in particular at low-income and elderly homeowners by subprime lenders. (SNL Weekly BankFax, 4/17/00)

On April 18, FDIC Chairwoman Donna Tanoue announced that within the next few weeks the federal banking agencies will be issuing a proposed rule implementing the provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act requiring public disclosure of agreements in connection with CRA between financial institutions and community groups. Under the new law, both financial institutions and community groups that are party to CRA-related written contracts, arrangements, or understandings entered into after November 12, must make the agreements available to the public, and must make annual reports to the financial institution's federal regulator regarding any agreement entered into after May 12. Tanoue said that the legislation "underscores the view that no financial institution or community group should succumb to extortion or bribery." (SNL Weekly BankFax, 4/24/00)

Items in Bank Notes focused on developments affecting banking structure in New England. They were condensed from daily newspapers and press releases from federal and state financial regulatory agencies. Their reproduction does not imply our endorsement of the accuracy, opinions or policies reflected in the subject matter.Items in Bank Notes focused on developments affecting banking structure in New England. They were condensed from daily newspapers and press releases from federal and state financial regulatory agencies. Their reproduction does not imply our endorsement of the accuracy, opinions or policies reflected in the subject matter.