Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 23, 1993 TAG: 9302230047
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MAG POFF STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
AFTER MERGER? BUSINESS AS USUAL
One of Roanoke's biggest corporate events, the merger of Dominion Bankshares Corp. into First Union Corp., stands to be, well, uneventful.Customers, employees and the community won't notice a thing if the acquisition takes place as scheduled Monday.
The merger still is targeted for March 1, according to R. Jeep Bryant, spokesman for First Union in Charlotte, N.C.
But the Virginia State Corporation Commission has yet to act on the proposal. It is the only outstanding regulatory blessing still outstanding on a long list of approvals.
Kenneth Schrad, spokesman for the commission in Richmond, said he could not give a date for the action. He did not know whether it would come this week.
If it doesn't happen, Bryant said, the acquisition by First Union would be postponed until the commission acts.
The merger of the two banking companies will be "more of a legal milestone than a visible milestone," Bryant said. He described Monday as "the legal consummation date."
Regardless of the legal status behind the scenes, Dominion will continue in business as usual. Outward appearances won't change until fall.
Signs on bank offices will continue to carry Dominion's name until then.
Writing a check bearing Dominion's name and numbers will work as usual, Bryant said, and its credit cards still will be accepted in the marketplace.
People who run out of checks after next week will receive Dominion replacements, Bryant said. Those checks will be good until customers run out next time.
New credit cards issued after March 1 also will be in the Dominion name with an expiration date of November.
Even employees who continue with the bank will see little change.
Bryant said the first of the 850 Roanoke Valley employees scheduled to lose their jobs as a result of the acquisition won't be out of their offices until March 31.
Even if some employees are asked to go early, he said, they will be paid as usual through March 31.
Many employees will go on working until next fall.
They, along with others who stay permanently, still will receive Dominion payroll checks. Bryant said they cannot be converted to First Union until the two computer systems are aligned.
Permanent workers will switch Monday to First Union's program of fringe benefits, which is very much like Dominion's.
The most visible change will be that workers will trade Dominion's dental-care coverage for First Union's better 401(k) pension plan.
Memo: ***CORRECTION***