Jesus H! Every week some major industry announces that 2 of the top companies are merging. Today's industry, banking. How soon will there just be two companies (Oceania/Eurasia) in each category?
WSJ.com - Bank of America to Acquire MBNA:
Bank of America Corp. said it agreed to acquire MBNA Corp., a major independent credit-card issuer, for $35 billion in cash and stock.
The acquisition combines a giant domestic bank with a leading provider of credit-card and payment products. It will significantly enhance Bank of America's product mix and customer reach, the company said. After the deal, Bank of America will become one of the largest card issuers in the U.S., with $143 billion in managed outstanding balances and 40 million active accounts, the bank said.
In the wake of the deal, Bank of America said it expects to take a restructuring charge of $1.25 billion related to the transaction. It said it will cut costs by eliminating 6,000 jobs and by cutting “overlapping technology, vendor leverage, and marketing expense.” The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
... Known in the industry as “mono-line” companies, the independents include MBNA, Capital One Financial Corp., and Metris Cos. Unlike other credit-card operations that are tucked into banking behemoths such as J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America, the mono-line issuers don't have significant banking operations. Earlier this month, Washington Mutual Inc. announced plans to buy mono-line issuer Providian Financial Corp. in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $6.45 billion.
