Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, July 29, 1993                   TAG: 9307290101
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: From staff and wire reports
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

IN BUSINESS

Chairman Richard Tilghman bought 100 shares of Crestar Financial Corp. Wednesday, launching its trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The ceremony was held on the floor of the exchange in New York.

The 38 million outstanding Crestar shares will trade under the symbol CF. Until Wednesday, the stock had traded over the counter through NASDAQ. The Richmond-based banking company's stock is listed in the Roanoke Times & World-News under Stocks of Regional Interest.

Tilghman said the move to the New York Stock Exchange will benefit the Richmond-based company and enable it to reach a broader investor base. - Staff report

BellSouth leans on worker performance

ATLANTA - The 83,000 employees of BellSouth Telecommunications were put on notice this week that performance will count more than job seniority in determining their future with the phone company.

In a letter to all employees, President F. Duane Ackerman wrote: "Our dedication to consistently high performance will increase and the consequences of meeting or missing objectives will be more pronounced."

Late last year, Atlanta-based BellSouth Corp., parent of BellSouth Telecommunications, said it would eliminate 8,000 jobs - but not necessarily that many people - through 1996 to cut costs. BellSouth, which has about 97,000 workers, is parent of BellSouth Communication Systems of Roanoke.

Ackerman called the new program a continuation of the earlier plan and said he did not have a better estimate on the number of job cuts.

But he said he intends "to pursue any additional opportunity to reduce the costs in this business." - Cox News Service

Restaurant plans, property for sale

Rather than develop a small shopping center on U.S. 220 South near Hunting Hills Plaza, a developer has put both the property and his plans up for sale.

Jay Aneja, proprietor of the Taste of India restaurant in Salem, said Tuesday the site has been approved for commercial development with a 9,000-square-foot strip plaza. A developer who buys the property, he said, would have the option to use the plans already approved by local officials or submit new ones. Aneja said present approval allows two large and two small stores at the site.

Aneja said he had considered opening a restaurant in one of the larger spaces and expected furniture retailer Harry Maghera to move Scandinavian Galleries to the center. For now, the furniture business is staying in Salem.

The decision to sell, Aneja said, was based on economic conditions and the fact that some members of the corporation owning the property were no longer interested in developing the strip plaza. Aneja said his price of $198,000 will allow his corporation to break even on the deal. He said he would rather provide financing than negotiate on the price. - Staff report

Martinsville bank agrees to controls

Piedmont Trust Bank of Martinsville said Wednesday it has voluntarily signed an order agreeing to enhance its policies, procedures, internal controls and audit frequency. The order was proposed by the board of the Federal Reserve Bank in Washington.

Piedmont BankGroup Inc. said many of the procedures already have been enacted by its subsidiary. It said it will have the rest in place for review by the Federal Reserve within 30 days.

The bank holding company said the action was taken in connection with "previously reported irregularities in the bank's trust department."

Documents filed in U.S. District Court in Roanoke indicate that a former bank employee, Susan Stone, is being investigated for embezzling $1.5 million from a customer's trust account. The loss was uncovered during a routine audit in January. - Staff report

Briefly . . .

\ WDBJ Television has hired The Packett Group as its advertising agency. The Roanoke agency will provide marketing and ad support for the station's programming. The Packett Group is Southwest Virginia's largest ad agency. Its clients include BellSouth Communication Systems, Carilion Health System, Cox Cable Roanoke, Medeco Security Locks and Shenandoah Life Insurance Co.

\ NationsBank Corp. of Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday increased the quarterly cash dividend on its common stock by 5 percent, or 2 cents to 42 cents per share, payable Sept. 24 to shareholders on Sept. 3.