Banking mergers usually proceed through a long period of surmise, rumor and denial until their final announcement is purely a formality. Sudden, unexpected, however, was last-week's announcement that Bank of America N.A. and Bancamerica, its investment company, were to consolidate with the famed private banking house of Blair & Co. Never before in Manhattan* had a commercial bank merged with an investment bank. That Bank of America was contemplating a merger was common knowledge, but that Blair & Co. would constitute the other half of the combination was indeed a surprise.
Central figures in the merger are Amadeo Peter Giannini (who last year secured control of Bank of America and made his brother Attilio Giannini chairman of its board) and Elisha Walker, leader of Blair & Co. With the acquisition of Blair & Co., Mr. Giannini has given his Bank of America a potent investment banking organization that will secure him an entrance into many an investment syndicate that Bancamerica does not reach. Sensational has been Blair & Co.'s success in recent years, its oil operations having culminated in the organization of the recently formed Petroleum Corp., $100,000,000 oil investment trust (TIME, Feb. 4). Able Elisha Walker, who will become president of Bancamerica and chairman of the executive committee of Bank of America, will doubtless be the active leader of the merged properties. But back of him will stand Mr. Giannini, now approaching his 60th year, and the billion dollar resources of Transamerica Corp., holding company for all Giannini enterprises.
Prophets immediately linked Blair, Bank of America and Chase National in a grand merger. But there were no indications whatever that Chase's potent Albert Wiggin contemplated the loss of his identity.
Another example of two birds of different banking feather flocking together was furnished by last week's merging of Central Union Trust and Hanover National. Central Union handles more than a billion dollars in its' personal trust department, aside from its corporate trusts. Hanover National has been known as a "bankers' bank," being depository and correspondent for many an out-of-town institution. President of the merged institution (which will probably be called Central-Hanover) will be George Willets Davison,† Central Union president. Chairman of the Board will be William Woodward, Hanover president. Central-Hanover will have $400,000,000 in deposits; $720,000,000 in resources.
* Merger of Harris Trust & Savings Bank with N.W. Harris & Co., both of Chicago, affords an extra-Manhattan precedent.
†George Willets Davison was born at Rockville Center, Long Island, in 1872, graduated from Wesleyan (Phi' Beta Kappa) in 1892, received New York University LL. B. in 1894. In 1899 he was Queens County District Attorney; in 1900 served as secretary of a committee formed to revise the charter of Greater New York. He became Central Union's vice president at the time of the 1918 merger and in 1919 succeeded to the presidency upon the death of James N. Wallace.