The catastrophe brutalizing the banking industry is at the forefront of both the news and main street conversations around the world. A Gallup survey measuring consumer confidence in banks taken in late September showed an unprecedented drop from 40% in mid-July and is the lowest level in thirty years. Only 21% of consumers polled are confident in U.S. banks today. This erosion of confidence (more…)
Wachovia Corp. has agreed to purchase competitor SouthTrust Corp. Hibernia Corporation acquired Coastal Bancorp, Inc. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is cleared to absorb Bank One Corp.
Whew! Banking is no longer boring.
The Chase merger will form the second-largest bank in the United States, with $1.12 trillion in assets. For Chase, this requires a significant investment in new signage, business cards, letterhead, envelopes, displays, imprints on about 51 million credit cards, etc. There will be employee issues and expenses as well.
And consider the thousands of other banks providing the same service: How will they compete? How can they compete? (more…)
