Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 10, 1993 TAG: 9306090357
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BALTIMORE LENGTH: Medium
The Maryland Alliance for Responsible Investment and the Virginia Coalition for Community Reinvestment expressed concerns about community investment in letters sent June 3 to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.
The Richmond branch is reviewing NationsBank's request to buy MNC, the parent of Maryland National Bank. MNC shareholders were scheduled to vote today on the takeover.
MARI Chairman George Buntin Jr. said NationsBank agreed to honor a community investment agreement the group had with Maryland National Bank, but that agreement expires in 1995 and Nationsbank would not make any promises beyond that.
The Virginia group wrote that "the community feels its attempts to work in partnership with NationsBank have been futile."
NationsBank's "insensitivity to community participation in public forums reinforce members' skepticism about NationsBank's commitment to meeting the credit needs of lower-income Virginia communities," the group said.
Catherine Bessant, NationsBank's community investment executive, said the company has worked with both groups. "We'll obviously file some responses to these, but I have no reason to believe the comments will slow the merger down."
But Linwood Gill II, the examining officer overseeing the takeover, said the complaints will delay the takeover at least a month.
The Fed accepted NationsBanks' application Monday, beginning a 30-day processing period, Gill said. If the Richmond branch approves the merger, it sends the application to the Fed's Board of Governors in Washington.
by CNB