Changes May Come for Texas Banks; Market Stunted by Savings-and-Loan Crisis.

Publication: The Dallas Morning News (Dallas, Texas) (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News)

Bookmark this article Print this article Link to this article Email this article Digg It! Add to del.icio.us RSS

COPYRIGHT 2003 The Dallas Morning News

Byline: Anuradha Raghunathan

Oct. 30--Two bank mergers made the news this week.

One, the $47 billion deal announced Monday between Bank of America Corp. and FleetBoston Financial Corp., moved the stock market. Another, the $43.5 million acquisition of Dallas' Reunion Bancshares Inc. by Houston's Southwest Bank, was notable only by Texas standards.

In a state where size matters, billion-dollar banking deals are rare. Although Texas is a highly prized market, the fallout from the 1980s savings-and-loan crisis still keeps the Texas banking industry out of the big leagues.

Since 1989, no Texas bank has figured in the 10 largest banking deals nationwide.

The Lone Star State is dominated by field offices and franchises of large out-of-state banks. Some homegrown banks are expanding through acquisitions...

Read the full article for free courtesy of your local library.