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

DATE: SUNDAY, September 5, 1993                   TAG: 9403090013
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: D1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

SMALL BANK SURVIVAL TECHNIQUES

While the NationsBank strategy of mixing investment services with traditional banking is closely watched throughout the banking industry, industry experts say it is not the only formula for survival.

New York banking consultant Paul H. Allen predicts that at least two other kinds of banks will be left when the industry shakeout is over:

Banks that specialize in providing a particular financial service - issuing credit cards, managing trust accounts or making mortgage loans. They will offer these services in two ways: either directly to customers through national telephone networks, or indirectly through other banks, which market these services under their own name. Among the models are Maryland's MBNA Corp., a former Maryland National Bank subsidiary, one of the nation's biggest issuers of credit cards; and Boston's State Street Bank Corp., which provides trust and back-office services to other banks.

Community banks with $100 million to $300 million in assets that continue to dominate their local markets because of close personal ties to depositors and business borrowers. But the days are numbered for tiny banks unless they expand or merge to reach a size in which they can operate efficiently.

\ The Washington Post

by CNB