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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 29, 1995                   TAG: 9503290075
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

IN BUSINESS

TOKYO - Mitsubishi Bank and the Bank of Tokyo have agreed to merge next year, in a marriage that would create the world's largest bank.

The merger, announced late Tuesday, marks an aggressive attempt by the banks to compete internationally with more profitable rivals in the United States and Europe.

Mitsubishi Bank, at the nucleus of the loosely linked Mitsubishi group of companies, has a strong base in domestic banking in Japan. The Bank of Tokyo has been an international powerhouse since the days when it was the only bank in Japan allowed to deal in foreign exchange.

Mitsubishi Bank president Tsuneo Wakai said the banks want to merge by April 1996, probably under the name Tokyo Mitsubishi Bank.

- Associated Press

First Union to open South African office

First Union Corp. said Tuesday it plans to open a representative office in South Africa to strengthen its support for U.S. companies that import and export to the region.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based bank expects to open in May in Johannesburg, pending approval by the South African Reserve Bank. First Union processed more than $200 million in trade transactions from South African banks in 1994.

- Staff report