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Boston banks held talks?
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May 1, 1998: 2:54 p.m. ET
BankBoston, Fleet Financial began, then broke off, merger talks, report says
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Two major combatants in New England banking, BankBoston Corp. and Fleet Financial Group Inc., are reportedly the latest in a succession of would-be financial Goliaths to wrestle over whether to merge.
A report in Friday's Boston Globe said the chairmen of the two banks held face-to-face talks as late as this week to discuss a combination that would have spawned a financial colossus boasting thousands of branches across Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut.
But the talks apparently broke off after Fleet chairman Terrence Murray and his archrival and counterpart at BankBoston, Charles Gifford, failed to agree on such basic issues as to how a merged bank should be structured or what to call the combined entity. As a result, the Globe said, chances for an imminent deal appear to be remote.
BankBoston, citing company policy, said it refuses to comment on rumors or speculation. Officials at Fleet hadn't returned phone calls by midday requesting comment on the purported talks.
The Globe said Gifford made the initial overture to Fleet about six months ago. The talks are said to have gained momentum last month, in the wake of Citicorp's proposed $70 billion merger with Travelers Group, a link-up which, if approved by regulators, would be the largest in corporate history.
Next to that blockbuster deal, and a subsequently announced $60 billion marriage between BankAmerica and NationsBank, a Fleet-BankBoston combination is a relatively diminutive affair. Still, such a combination would rank among the nation's top ten banks and dominate New England.
Fleet, New England's number one bank, with more than 1,200 branches, had assets of $91 billion in 1997. BankBoston, for its part, has racked up assets of $69.3 billion since its creation in 1996 through the merger of Bank of Boston Corp. and BayBanks Inc. Today, it dominates the Boston market, where it is based.
Because regulators would require the banks to divest certain assets before being allowed to merge, the combined company likely would have total assets of around $130 billion. By contrast, the merged Citicorp-Travelers firm would have $697 billion in assets, and NationsBank-BankAmerica, $570 billion.
Despite their fierce rivalry, BankBoston and Fleet could make attractive partners. Fleet's strength in national credit cards and its mortgage business would be complemented by BankBoston's significant foreign presence in Latin America. BankBoston lately has been positioning itself to provide banking services between Latin America and China.
The Globe said regulators had voiced serious misgivings about a potential Fleet-BankBoston merger, suggesting the companies would have to sell a wide range of assets to clear any anti-trust hurdles.
The newspaper cited people familiar with the deal saying the banks may be maneuvering to avoid being gobbled up by a larger entity. A combined company would be in a prime position for a takeover of its own. 
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BankBoston
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