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By , BankAmerica's recovery was so strong that it was able to declare its first dividend since the fourth quarter of Industry analysts called the recovery the biggest turnaround in the history of U. During this year, BankAmerica was the first major bank in California to announce that it would open all its branches on Saturdays and extend weekday hours for greater consumer convenience. Industry analysts theorized that the bank had the cleanest loan portfolio of the nation's big banks.

The bank also opened a new international branch in Milan, Italy. In , BankAmerica surpassed Chase Manhattan to become the second-largest bank holding company in the nation. Also, in keeping with the bank's policy of community responsibility, it began an Environmental Program that included activities directed toward saving paper and other materials through recycling, and energy and water conservation.

Seeking to expand its operations beyond its branches in seven western states, the bank added branches in two more states with the acquisitions of ABQ and Sandia Federal Savings banks of New Mexico, and Village Green National Bank in Houston.

Another purchase was a subsidiary of GNA Securities that had operated an investment program in the bank's branches since The program, called Bank of America Investment Services, offered mutual funds and tax-deferred annuities. Expanding services to customers continued with the opening of full-service branches in grocery stores in southern California.

In addition, to allow customers access to money anytime and anywhere, the bank opened several hundred new Versateller ATM's for a total of 2, in nine states. After nine months of preparation, the merger of BankAmerica Corp. After the merger BankAmerica became the nation's second-largest bank.

The merger was part of a national trend of bank consolidation that sought to strengthen troubled and even healthy institutions. The merger also helped the bank expand into new markets and geographic locations. By the end of , consumer banking services were provided in ten western states, trust and consumer financial services were provided nationwide, and commercial and corporate banking operations were located in 35 countries worldwide.

Acquisition activity continued with the purchase of Sunbelt Federal Savings, which held branches in 76 cities in Texas; HonFed, the largest thrift in Hawaii; and Valley Bank of Nevada, which made BankAmerica the largest depository institution in that state. However, the persistent national recession, combined with a recession in the state of California, caused a decline in earnings reported for Additional overseas expansion occurred when BankAmerica received approval from the People's Bank of China to upgrade its Guangzhou representative office into a full-service branch, the first U.

Consolidation of consumer and commercial finance units was undertaken, and one year after the merger, the bank had consumer operations in much of the United States, wholesale offices in 37 nations, retail branches in ten western states, and consumer finance company operations in 43 states. As BankAmerica moved into the mids, it focused on many of the policies it had begun in the s. Under the leadership of David Coulter--named chairman and CEO in BankAmerica's strategies included development of new products and services for consumers; geographic diversification into such fast-growing economies as Asia and Latin America, which would enable the bank to better withstand the economic cycles of the domestic market; community investments; environmental programs; and loans to students and those with low income.

BankAmerica also continued to hope for changes in laws and regulations that would allow interstate banking and more effective competition with non-bank institutions providing similar financial services. The company got its wish when federal laws began to allow banks to participate in the securities industry.

NationsBank was one of the United States' largest banking and financial companies. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, the company grew at breakneck speed through the late s and early s to claim a spot as one of the nation's top five financial institutions.

Industry analysts credit this phenomenal growth to the company's foundation of bold, aggressive management and thorough, professional planning. They also credit the company's success to the personality and leadership of Hugh L. McColl, Jr. McColl's style, that of a southern-born and bred ex-Marine, contrasted sharply with that of most members of the banking community and contributed to NationsBank's image as one of the mavericks of the banking world.

The merger created the fourth-largest banking company in the United States. Brown became the first chairman. The two companies entered the merger having both completed a decade of rapid growth that was typical of the banking industry in the s. After expanding into South Carolina and Florida in the early to mids, Charlotte-based NCNB took an unprecedented leap forward through a unique expansion into Texas in In , this company merged with similarly sized Sovran Financial of Norfolk, Virginia.

Sovran had banking offices throughout Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Maryland, as well as in Tennessee and Kentucky.

After these two companies merged, the resulting organization established dual headquarters in Atlanta and in Norfolk. NCNB traces its illustrious history back to the Commercial National Bank, which was organized by several prominent Charlotte citizens in A series of mergers with other North Carolina financial institutions in the s ultimately led to the creation of North Carolina National Bank on July 1, The bank continued to acquire smaller institutions, and by NCNB had grown to 91 offices in 27 North Carolina counties with deposits of more than one billion dollars.

Ten years later, it stood as the state's largest bank. Based in Winston-Salem, Wachovia had offices from the mountains to the coast and exercised considerable political clout in the capitol city of Raleigh.

Bankers at other institutions stood in envy of Wachovia. Many bankers thrived on the competition, and some, such as Addison Reese at American Commercial Bank--one of NCNB's predecessor institutions--in Charlotte, considered that competition the reason for going to work each morning.

At the time, Reese believed that North Carolina banking was poised for a change and nothing could stop him from meeting Wachovia's threats. North Carolina's banking laws were more liberal than in most states. They had been on the books since the early s, when a Wilmington, North Carolina, bank appealed to the state legislature for permission to open an office about ninety miles away in Fayetteville. The legislature complied with the bank.

Unlike law-makers in most states, the North Carolina legislature saw no reason to restrict branch banking during the intervening years. In retrospect, many people believe that it was the close competition with backyard rival Wachovia that spurred NCNB's rapid growth. At the time, it became the first non-Florida bank to expand its retail services into the state. During this period of growth, North Carolina National Bank established several "firsts" in its industry. The company that would eventually become Sovran opened its doors in Richmond during that decade.

At the time, its customer base included Confederate Army commander Robert E. More than a century later, in , two major institutions--Virginia National Bankshares and First and Merchants--merged to form Sovran Financial Corporation. At the time, it was the largest banking merger in Virginia's state history. Sovran's management team decided to merge with D. National Bancorp, headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in By November of , Sovran was moving west by merging with Commerce Union, a year-old bank holding company based in Nashville.

Commerce Union's business at the time spanned Tennessee and had a presence in Kentucky. The merger gave Sovran strongholds in both of those states. Around the time Sovran Bank's foundations were being laid, the Citizens Bank of Savannah, Georgia, opened its doors in the temperate coastal city on November 2, The resulting organization became the state's largest financial institution. It began to spread rapidly across the state of Georgia. Citizens and Southern began opening offices in South Carolina in , but the company sold its operations there in when it anticipated federal rules preventing banks from owning branches in multiple states.

That acquisition, along with the purchase of Landmark Banks of Florida in , helped Citizens and Southern double its size within eighteen months during the mids.

The banking environment, however, was in the midst of tremendous change. Large banks were continuing to consolidate. As a result, smaller banks were under constant pressure to find new ways to improve their efficiency and productivity and reduce their workforces. In addition, the nation as a whole experienced a downturn in the real estate market--an area responsible for much of an average bank's business.

Prior to reissuing his offer, McColl gathered with his advisors. I don't know when. I don't know how. Cooley handled the job himself, and several weeks later, he handed McColl a profile of Brown as well as a profile of McColl himself, as seen by Brown.

Cooley told his boss that the keys to Brown's relationships with people were honesty, sincerity, warmth, and friendliness. To McColl's chagrin, however, each of those traits was opposite the characteristics that McColl portrayed to Brown. From Brown's vantage point, McColl was arrogant, crude, and ungentlemanly.

After hearing Cooley's report, McColl and several other advisors began an intense series of role-playing sessions. McColl was schooled to avoid the use of militaristic terms and other verbal and nonverbal examples of his usual aggressive style.

His staff coached him to become softer, more receptive, and friendlier in his approach. The credit problems in the D. News filtered down to the NCNB leaders that although both factions preferred to remain independent, a merger with NCNB was the second choice among those on both sides. With this knowledge, McColl renewed his merger efforts with Brown. We have to grow within our risk framework.

And, our growth must be sustainable, which has three elements: driving operational excellence, being a great place to work for our teammates and sharing our success with our communities. Our focus. Business practices Part of driving responsible growth is maintaining strong guidelines for business practices and professional and personal conduct that all employees, and anyone who acts on our behalf, are expected to adopt and uphold.

See our practices. Our products and services. Meet our leadership team. History The oldest parts of our company extend back years.