Merger Announcements

On November 4, Webster Financial Corporation, Waterbury, CT signed a definitive agreement to acquire Maritime Bank & Trust Corporation, Essex, CT. On November 11, Webster Financial Corporation signed a definitive agreement to buy Village Bancorp, Inc., Ridgefield, CT. The two transactions, which are subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals, are expected to be completed in the first quarter of 1999. As of June 30, 1998, Webster Financial Corporation, parent company of Webster Bank, Waterbury, CT, had total deposits of $5.7 billion and ranked third among all commercial banking and thrift organizations in Connecticut. As of the same date, Maritime Bank & Trust Corporation had total deposits of $89.0 million and ranked 63rd. As of the same date, Village Bancorp, Inc., parent company of Village Bank and Trust Company, Ridgefield, CT, had total deposits of $215.6 million and ranked 37th. (American Bkr., 11/18; SNL Weekly BankFax, 11/9, 11/16/98)

On November 14, Lexington Savings Bank, Lexington, MA merged with USTrust, Boston, MA under the title and charter of USTrust. As of June 30, 1998, Affiliated Community Bancorp, parent company of Federal Savings Bank, Waltham, MA, Lexington Savings Bank, Lexington, MA and Middlesex Bank and Trust Company, Newton, MA, had total deposits of $732.9 million and ranked 18th among all commercial banking and thrift organizations in Massachusetts. As of the same date, UST Corporation, Boston, MA, parent company of USTrust, United States Trust Company, Boston, MA, had total deposits of $3.0 billion and ranked sixth. On November 23, Summit Bancorp, Princeton, NJ completed its acquisition of NSS Bancorp, Inc., Norwalk, CT. As of June 30, 1998, NSS Bancorp, Inc., parent company of Norwalk Savings Society, Norwalk, CT, had total deposits of $461.7 million and ranked 21st among all commercial banking and thrift organizations in Connecticut. Summit Bancorp, parent company of Summit Bank, Hackensack, NJ, currently operates in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. (Internal Notice, 11/16; SNL Weekly BankFax, 11/30/98)

On October 29, shareholders of Sandwich Bancorp, Inc., Sandwich, MA approved the thrift's acquisition by Seacoast Financial Services, New Bedford, MA. The transaction is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter. As of June 30, 1998, Sandwich Bancorp, Inc., parent company of Sandwich Co-operative Bank, Sandwich, MA, had total deposits of $444.7 million and ranked 36th among all commercial banking and thrift organizations in Massachusetts. On November 12, shareholders of SIS Bancorp, Inc., Springfield, MA, approved the acquisition of the thrift by Peoples Heritage Financial Group, Portland, ME. The transaction, which remains subject to approval by the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) and the Massachusetts Banking Commissioner, is expected to be completed by the end of the year. As of June 30, 1998, SIS Bancorp, Inc., parent company of Springfield Institution for Savings, Springfield, MA, and Glastonbury Bank and Trust Company, Glastonbury, CT, had total deposits of $1.4 billion and ranked 19th among all commercial banking and thrift organizations in New England. As of the same date, Peoples Heritage Financial Group, parent company of Bank of New Hampshire, Manchester, NH, Peoples Heritage Savings Bank, Portland, ME, and Family Bank, FSB, Haverhill, MA, had total deposits of $7.0 billion and ranked fifth. On November 20, shareholders of Central Co-operative Bank, Somerville, MA approved the formation of a holding company to be named Central Bancorp, Inc.. The reorganization is expected to be completed by the end of the year or in the first quarter of 1999. As of June 30, 1998, Central Co-operative Bank had total deposits of $280.9 million and ranked 61st among all commercial banking and thrift organizations in Massachusetts. (SNL Weekly BankFax, 11/2, 11/16, 11/23/98 )

On November 22, Fleet Financial Group, Inc., Boston, MA entered an agreement to buy Sanwa Business Credit Corporation (SBCC), Chicago, IL, the commercial finance unit of Sanwa Bank Ltd., Osaka, Japan. SBCC has $6.5 billion of assets and offers a wide variety of asset-based lending, equipment leasing, and vendor finance programs throughout the United States. It will be merged into Fleet Capital Corporation, a Fleet subsidiary specializing in secured lending and leasing. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 1999 and is subject to regulatory approval. (SNL Weekly BankFax, 11/2, 11/16, 11/23/98)

On November 13, First Massachusetts Bank, N.A., Worcester, MA, a subsidiary of BankNorth Group, Burlington, VT, purchased ten branches from BankBoston, N.A., Boston, MA, for approximately $52.5 million. The branches are located in North Adams, Pittsfield, Williamstown, Great Barrington, Dalton, and Adams, and have total deposits of approximately $236.6 million. The transaction also includes nine remote ATM sites, commercial and consumer loan portfolios, and private banking services. As of June 30, 1998, BankBoston Corporation, parent company of BankBoston, N.A., had total Massachusetts deposits of $27.3 billion and ranked first among all commercial banking and thrift organizations in Massachusetts. As of the same date, BankNorth Group, Inc. had total Massachusetts deposits of $558.4 million and ranked 27th. (American Bkr., 11/18; Boston Globe, 11/14; SNL Weekly BankFax, 11/16/98)

Citibank NA, New York, NY, a subsidiary of Citigroup, Inc., New York, NY, has entered into an agreement to acquire 54 of the 108 branches of Banco Mayo, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Banco Mayo failed in early October after depositors withdrew more than $300 million in deposits. The agreement includes the return to depositors of 728 million pesos in deposits and CDs held by Banco Mayo. (SNL Weekly BankFax, 11/2/98 )

On November 9, Fleet Financial Group, Boston, MA agreed to acquire Merrill Lynch Specialists, Inc., New York, NY, the New York Stock Exchange specialist firm owned by Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Fleet currently owns Quick , Reilly Group, Inc., Palm Beach, FL, and its subsidiary specialist firm, JJC Specialist (JJC). The acquisition will return JJC to the position of the second largest specialist firm on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). JJC Specialist, after the integration of Merrill Lynch Specialist, will service 426 securities for 333 NYSE-listed companies, including 70 companies in the S&P 500 stock index. The transaction is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter. (N.Y. Times, 11/10; SNL Weekly BankFax, 11/16/98 )

On November 4, ABN Amro N.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, formed an alliance with Mellon Bank Corporation, Pittsburgh, PA. ABN Amro Bank is a leading international banking group. The venture, to be named Amro Mellon Global Securities Services, will provide financial institutions with custody services like compliance monitoring, investment accounting, performance measurement, and analysis. The new company will market its services worldwide except in Mellon's home market, the United States, and the markets where Mellon has existing alliances, including Canada, the Scandinavian countries, Spain, and Portugal. (N.Y. Times, 11/4/98 )

On November 10, Fleet Financial Group, Boston, MA agreed to buy approximately $1.3 billion of consumer credit card receivables from Household International, Inc., Prospect Heights, IL, for an undisclosed amount. The portfolio will be managed by Fleet subsidiary Fleet Credit Card Services L.P., Horsham, PA. (N.Y. Times, 11/11; SNL Weekly BankFax, 11/16/98 )

On October 29, Mellon Bank, Pittsburgh, PA agreed to sell its merchant processing subsidiary to Paymentech, Inc., Dallas, TX for an undisclosed amount. The business serves more than 46,000 merchants with annual credit card sales volume of approximately $5.3 billion. The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter. (SNL Weekly BankFax, 11/2/98 )

The Federal Reserve Board of Governors (Fed) has decided that, beginning in December, banks will not have to hold reserves against their first $4.9 million of deposits and other liabilities subject to reserve requirements. The current threshold is $4.7 million. The Fed will impose a 3 percent reserve requirement on deposits totaling between $4.9 million and $46.5 million, with remaining deposits subject to a 10 percent reserve requirement. Deposits totaling between $4.7 million and $47.8 million currently are subject to a 3 percent reserve. (SNL Weekly BankFax, 11/30/98)

The Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) has issued a new policy on privacy that urges thrifts to go beyond existing legal requirements when telling their customers how they plan to use personal information and permitting customers to opt out, to limit the use of personal information. Key points of the new policy mandate that thrifts have an obligation to protect and maintain confidential and accurate customer accounts; each institution should establish adequate controls to ensure that customer information is properly protected, confidential, and used only as agreed with the customer; and if an institution wants to use customer information for purposes other than its own internal business purposes, the customer should be told and given the opportunity to limit such use. This policy statement and applicable laws and regulations will be considered by OTS examiners as they evaluate the adequacy of an institution's controls. (SNL Weekly BankFax, 11/9/98)

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.