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| Opportunities & Exposures |
When Banks Collide
Bruce M. Holley
07/01/2004
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The pace of consolidation in the financial services industry is picking up as
competitors seek to take advantage of scale, the rapid creation of nationwide
banking franchises and complementary business and geographical
strengths.
 From January 1 to April 12 of this year, mergers and acquisitions
involving financial institutions globally totaled $126.6 billion, more than
double the $53.6 billion total for the same period in 2003, according to Thomson
SDC, a firm that tracks financial transactions. The $58.7 billion JP Morgan
Chase-Bank One merger, of course, propelled this jump in merger volume.
In
this climate of rapid change, the key question for the private banking client
is: Do the changes taking place better suit my needs or not? The answer to this
question lies in understanding how a recent or pending merger is likely to
change the experiences of a client. Faced with a prospective or future merger,
we should always feel empowered to talk with relationship managers at wealth
management and private banking institutions to find out exactly what the
transaction will mean for us, along with our portfolios.
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