Bank of America to acquire LaSalle Bank

Monday, 23 April 2007

By SCBIZ Staff CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Bank of America Corp. is purchasing ABN AMRO North America Holding Co., parent of LaSalle Bank Corp. and its subsidiaries. The combination of LaSalle and Bank of America creates a leading banking franchise in metropolitan Chicago and in Michigan. Charlotte-based Bank of America will pay $21 billion in cash to ABN AMRO. After a return of $5 billion in excess capital, the net cost is $16 billion.The purchase will deepen Bank of America's Chicago presence and add LaSalle's 17,000 commercial banking clients, 1.4 million retail customers, 411 banking centers and 1,500 ATMs in the Chicago area, Michigan and Indiana. It also will mark Bank of America's retail branch entry in Michigan, where it will have 264 offices and be the largest bank with a 23% deposit market share. LaSalle also has six banking offices in Indiana.In the last four years, Bank of America has grown its retail presence in Chicago from a single financial center to 56 locations. Once combined with LaSalle's 141 Chicago area offices, Bank of America will have more than 14% of the deposit market share in metropolitan Chicago. LaSalle is a top- 20 U.S. bank holding company, with $113 billion total assets. "In LaSalle, we see a compelling opportunity to fill in a key gap in our national franchise and build relationships with thousands of new customers in retail, private banking, wealth management and commercial and corporate banking," said Kenneth D. Lewis, Bank of America's chairman and CEO. "LaSalle customers will share in the most extensive retail franchise in the nation, have access to a leading innovator in financial services and will benefit from Bank of America's commitment to the communities it serves." The agreement has been approved by Bank of America's board of directors and ABN AMRO's supervisory board and is subject to customary regulatory approvals. The purchase is expected to comply with all applicable legal and regulatory requirements. Closing is expected in late 2007 or early 2008.