$60B bank merger near: J.P. Morgan has agreed to buy Bank One

[LynneSin]

http://money.cnn.com/2004/01/14/news/deals/jpmorgan_bankone/index.htm

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. has agreed to acquire Bank One Corp. for an estimated $60 billion, a person close to the matter said Wednesday.

A merger would preserve J.P. Morgan's position as the nation's No. 2 bank, ranked by assets, behind Citigroup Inc.

No. 3 Bank of America Corp.'s pending purchase of FleetBoston Financial Corp. would vault that combination past the current J.P. Morgan.

"There is a real logic to it," Bert Ely, a banking consultant at Ely & Co. in Alexandria, Va., told Reuters. "The only thing I would wonder about is might a competing bid come in."

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[maddezmom]

1. great, guess I'll be getting another credit card in the mail

had one that went to Wachovia, then Bank One...now I guess it'll be Chase.

[LynneSin]

2. BankOne was never with Wachovia, but they were formerly FirstUSA

gotta keep all those bank names straight!!

[Frodo]

3. He may still be right.

There was more than one "boutique" card (branded with some university name or charity etc.) that switched from one bank to another.

It isn't just when a bank gets bought out.

[KoKo]

4. ROFL! I had Wachovia for many years, and with all Banc One's Problems

with crooks with hands in the pot, was just about to get rid of it and go to something else. Now we have something "new" to deal with.

And the "Economy" just keeps perking along, right? How many jobs will be lost in this merger? They can't keep the old Wachovia/Banc One folks now can they. So it will be providing jobs to J.P. Morgan where they can push "other" services in your face while they become bigger after downsizing the old "dead wood."

[denverbill]

5. And this is good for America.....how?

Let's see. Employees will be fired due to job duplication. Shareholders who hold their shares through the merger will be screwed because the buyer always overpays and gets into too much debt. And consumers will have fewer choices and less competition for their business.

It's the American way.

[54anickel]

7. It's not, but 2004 will see the merger-mania return. There was lots of

articles on expected mergers and acquistions coming up for the year. It's great for analysts and share-holders, sucks for workers.

With so few banks left and little regulation. I was in banking back in the late 70's early 80's when there was the big push for interstate banking. Thought it was a bad deal for employees and customers then - now we've got what a dozen at most major banks.
It sucks.

[KoKo]

6. Coporate Chaos Rules! Wait until they change your "billing date" and you

just might be on a vacation or something and miss your payment be a few days and then by the time you've complained (if you're a feisty DU'er or one, like me, who pays all my bills in full) you've been given a "late fee charge" where they can get gullible folks who pay the minimum to give them a big windfall of $$'s because they didn't get the "heads up" and get their check in there on time.

It's disgusting these Corporate Games played on the backs of all of us....! :grr: