Merge Completion

On April 22, Webster Financial Corporation, Waterbury, CT, completed its acquisition of Maritime Bank & Trust Company, Essex, CT. Maritime Bank & Trust Company will be operated under the charter and title of Webster Bank, Waterbury, CT, a subsidiary of Webster Financial Corporation. As of June 30, Webster Financial Corporation 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 Company had total deposits of $88.9 million and ranked 63rd. (Internal Notice, 4/26; SNL Weekly BankFax, 4/26/99)

On March 20, HUBCO, Inc., Mahwah, NJ, consolidated its banking subsidiaries Hudson United Bank, Union City, NJ, Lafayette American Bank and Trust Company, Bridgeport, CT, and Bank of the Hudson, Poughkeepsie, NY, under the name Hudson United Bank. As of June 30, 1998, HUBCO, Inc. had total New England deposits of $1.0 billion and ranked 22nd among all commercial banking and thrift organizations in New England. (NIC; SNL Weekly BankFax, 4/5/99)

On April 14, Castle Bank and Trust Company, Meriden, CT, began banking operations. The new institution is a state-chartered, FDIC-insured bank. (Internal Notice, 4/15/99)

On March 31, Citibank, a subsidiary of Citigroup, Inc., New York, NY, completed its acquisition of the credit card business of Mellon Bank Corporation, Pittsburgh, PA. As announced on March 23, Citigroup agreed to buy $1.9 billion of receivables and establish an agent bank relationship with Mellon, allowing Citibank to market credit cards under the Mellon and Dreyfus brands. (SNL Weekly BankFax, 4/5/99)

On April 13, Phoenix Home Life Mutual Insurance Company, Hartford, CT, a subsidiary of Phoenix Home Group, agreed to acquire New London Trust FSB, New London, NH, for an undisclosed amount. Phoenix Home Life Mutual Insurance will retain the trust operations of New London Trust and sell the assets, liabilities, and banking offices of New London's retail banking operations. Westbank Corporation, West Springfield, MA, agreed to acquire the Danielson and Putnam, CT, branches of New London Trust for $8.7 million in cash; Lake Sunapee Savings Bank, FSB, Newport, NH, a subsidiary of New Hampshire Thrift Bancshares, Newport, NH, agreed to acquire three New Hampshire branches of New London Trust for an undisclosed amount; and Mascoma Savings Bank, Lebanon, NH, agreed to acquire the two remaining New Hampshire branches of New London Trust for an undisclosed amount. As of June 30, 1998, New London Trust FSB had total deposits of $273.5 million and ranked 107th among all commercial banking and thrift organizations in New England. As of the same date, Westbank Corporation, parent company of Park West Bank and Trust Company, West Springfield, MA, had total deposits of $306.2 million and ranked 90th; New Hampshire Thrift Bancshares had total deposits of $275.8 million and ranked 106th; and Mascoma Savings Bank had total deposits of $329.6 million and ranked 84th. (SNL Weekly BankFax, 4/19/99)

Nutmeg Federal Savings and Loan Association, Danbury, CT, announced that it will service more than 3,000 first mortgages generated by two other institutions. The thrift will collect payments on the portfolios of York Federal Savings and Loan Association, York, PA, and Citizens Bank, Providence, RI. Combined, the portfolios are valued at about $214 million. The transfer is expected to take place during the second quarter. (American Bkr., 4/19/99)

On April 12, Cambridge Savings Bank, Cambridge, MA, and Appleton Partners, Inc., formed the joint venture Cambridge Appleton Trust NA, which will market trust and investment management services. (SNL Weekly BankFax, 4/19/99)

On April 12, Leasecomm Corporation, a subsidiary of MicroFinancial, Inc., Waltham, MA, agreed to acquire merchant bankcard terminal rental and lease agreements from Fleet Bank, a subsidiary of Fleet Financial Group, Boston, MA. Terms of the transactions were not disclosed. (SNL Weekly BankFax, 4/19/99)

On March 31, Bank of New York Company, New York, NY, signed a definitive agreement to acquire master servicing company Capital Company of America Client Services (CACS), Irving, TX, for an undisclosed amount. Bank of New York plans to combine the resources of CACS with its specialty servicing subsidiary BNY Trotter Kent to enhance its corporate trust and fiduciary services. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of April. (SNL Weekly BankFax, 4/5/99)

On April 21, Chase Bankruptcy Information Systems, Inc., a subsidiary of Chase Manhattan Corporation, New York, NY, purchased the assets of the DCS Corporation, a software company specializing in Chapter 13 bankruptcy management services for bankruptcy trustees. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. (SNL Weekly BankFax, 4/26/99)

On April 23, First Data Corporation, Hackensack, NJ, made a 10-year processing deal with Fleet Credit Card Services, a subsidiary of Fleet Financial Group, Boston, MA. First Data Resources, First Data's card-issuing subsidiary, has provided portfolio management services for Fleet since 1989. Financial terms of the renewed deal were not disclosed. (American Bkr., 4/23/99)

On April 1, GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corporation (GMACCM), a subsidiary of General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC), Detroit, MI, signed a definitive agreement to acquire the commercial mortgage servicing portfolio from the income property division of Mellon Mortgage Company. Mellon Mortgage Company is a subsidiary of Mellon Bank Corporation, Pittsburgh, PA. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter. (SNL Weekly BankFax, 4/5/99)

On April 6, Atlantic Bank & Trust Company, Boston, MA, entered into an Internet banking services agreement with nFront, Inc. The bank also has begun the design and development of an online banking Web site. The site is expected to become fully operational this summer. (SNL Weekly BankFax, 4/12/99)

On April 15, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (Fed), the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) released a checklist designed to help consumers protect themselves and their funds against potential Year 2000-related computer problems. The regulators plan to send a camera-ready copy of the checklist to every federally insured bank, thrift, and credit union. (SNL Weekly BankFax, 4/19/99)

On April 19, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (Fed), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) published as a final rule an interim rule amending their respective risk-based capital standards for market risk, applicable to certain banks and bank holding companies with significant trading activities. The interim rule implemented a revision to the Basle Accord adopted in 1997. Prior to the revision, an institution that measured specific risk with an internal value-at-risk (VAR) model was subject to a minimum capital charge, which is calculated using the standardized approach. The rule will finalize the interim rule, which reduced the regulatory burden for institutions with a qualifying internal VAR model, because they no longer must calculate a standardized specific risk capital charge. The final rule will go into effect on July 1, 1999. (SNL Weekly BankFax, 4/19/99)

On April 1, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (Fed) revised its staff commentary on the Truth-in-Lending Act. The Fed determined that banks may not send clients unsolicited credit cards even if they are credit/stored-value cards. The previous rule was unclear on whether the cards could be sent without a client's approval. (SNL Weekly BankFax, 4/5/99)

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.