Banking
Mergers
On the heels of the Bank
of America/Nation's Bank merger, First Union Corporation and
CoreStates Financial Corporation have finalized their deal creating
the largest banking network on the East Coast.
The combined company has
a network of 3,400 ATMs from Connecticut to Florida, as wells as
overseas, with 2,400 branches serving 16 million customers. As part
of an agreement with the Justice Department, 95 CoreStates branches
were sold to Sovereign Bancorp, Pennsylvania's third-largest
bank.
To allay concerns about
lay-offs and increased fees, First Union will set up a $100 million
regional foundation to service the CoreStates market. It will also
launch a $14 billion program to provide loans and services to low-
and moderate-income neighborhoods in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and
Delaware.
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