Market Scan

Headlines: Restructuring, Mergers, and Acquisitions

Bank of America Announces Leadership Changes for Global Corporate and Investment Bank; Will Lay-Off 3000

Note:  Bank of America's move follows a similar move by Wachovia, which will lay-off 200 people, most from its corporate bank.

Headlines: Mergers and Acquisitions

Bank of America Completes Purchase of LaSalle Bank

TD Bank Financial Group to Acquire Commerce Bancorp Inc.

Wachovia Completes A.G. Edwards Merger

RBC Centura Acquires Alabama National

RBC Centura, based in Raleigh NC, has acquired Alabama National Bancorporation:

"Under the agreement, RBC Centura will acquire ANB, which includes 11 bank subsidiaries with 103 banking centers, eight mortgage/loan offices and 124 ATMs. As of June 30, 2007, ANB had assets of $7.9 billion, deposit balances of $5.8 billion and loans of $5.7 billion. Upon completion of the transaction, RBC Centura will surpass $33 billion in assets and will grow to 85 locations in Alabama, 89 locations in Florida and 68 in Georgia."

For the full press release, click here.

Fifth Third to Acquire First Charter

Fifth Third Bancorp and First Charter Corporation have signed a definitive agreement under which Fifth Third will acquire Charlotte-based First Charter, which operates 57 branches in North Carolina and 2 in suburban Atlanta.  For the full press release, click here.

Commentary

Perhaps the new bank will be named Fifth Third First!  I crack myself up!

Fiserv to Acquire Checkfree

Fiserv and Checkfree have entered into a definitive agreement under which Fiserv will acquire Checkfree for approximately $4.4 billion.  Fiserv provides core processing services to over 6000 banks while Checkfree is the leader electronic bill payment, online banking, and ACH processing.

Jeffery Yabuki, President and Chief Executive Officer of Fiserv said, "An important objective of the transaction is to tightly integrate electronic bill payment and settlement capabilities with our core account processing and risk management solutions to create a unique value proposition unrivaled in the marketplace today."

Pete Kight, CheckFree Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said that the acquisition "will significantly accelerate the delivery of next-generation services to financial institutions and their customers."

AP reports that "on an annualized basis, Fiserv said it expects to realize more than $100 million in cost savings and more than $125 million in extra revenue as a result of the deal. "

For the complete press release, click here. 

M&A Update

M&A announcements today:

• Bank of NY and Mellon complete merger
• Commerce Bank of KC completes acquisition of Denver-based Commerce Bank
• Compass shareholder will vote on BBVA acquistion on August 8
• Huntington completes its merger with Sky Financial

Fidelity National Information Services Buys eFunds

Mortgage processor Fidelity National Information Services Inc. said on Wednesday it would acquire eFunds Corp., which processes financial transactions, for $1.8 billion, expanding its distribution capabilities and boosting its product offerings.

http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articlehybrid.aspx?storyID=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20070627:MTFH15768_2007-06-27_14-19-20_N27405751&type=comktNews&rpc=44