DATE: Sunday, September 7, 1997             TAG: 9709030713

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D9   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: HAMPTON ROADS ALMANAC '97

SOURCE: BY TOM SHEAN, STAFF WRITER

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:  120 lines

FINANCE THE OLD DOMINION IS ATTRACTIVE NEW TERRITORY FOR FOUR NORTH CAROLINA-BASEDBANKS, WHICH HAVE ANNOUNCED EXPANSION PLANS. WHEN ALL THE DEALS ARE DONE, N.C. BANKS WILL HOLD ABOUT 47 PERCENT OF VIRGINIA'S BANK DEPOSITS. FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS BANKING ON VIRGINIA BUSINESS

Working from a kiosk near the supermarket entrance, Mike Fowler cashed a check for a customer and helped her replace a lost ATM card.

On occasion, Fowler steps away from the Centura Bank branch inside the Hannaford supermarket to mingle with shoppers.

``When it comes to bringing in new business, nothing beats a face-to-face conversation,'' said Fowler, a Centura sales officer at the Hannaford store near the intersection of Independence and Virginia Beach boulevards.

But, despite a major presence in northeastern North Carolina, Centura has something of an identity problem in Hampton Roads.

``Sentara? I thought you guys were a hospital,'' is the response Fowler sometimes gets when he mentions the bank's name.

That's likely to change as Centura expands its network of Virginia branches. Kel Landis, vice chairman of the bank's parent, Centura Banks Inc., said the company expects to add branches in three more Hannaford stores in the region during 1998. Some bankers and securities analysts predict that Centura eventually will acquire a bank in Hampton Roads.

Since April, Rocky Mount, N.C.-based Centura has opened branches at four Hannaford stores in Virginia Beach and Norfolk. It's scheduled to open a fifth in a Hannaford store in the Hilltop area of Virginia Beach later this month.

What prompted the push by Centura and other North Carolina banks into Virginia is the need to generate additional business while spreading their costs over a broader area. So far this year, at least three other North Carolina banks have expanded their footholds in the Old Dominion.

Wachovia Corp. of Winston-Salem, N.C., agreed in June to buy Jefferson Bankshares Inc. of Charlottesville. Two weeks later, it was back in Virginia with an agreement to buy Central Fidelity Banks Inc. of Richmond.

In July, Charlotte-based First Union Corp. struck a deal to buy Signet Banking Corp., which will provide First Union with the biggest share of bank deposits in Virginia.

BB&T Corp., a North Carolina-based banking company with a large presence in Hampton Roads, has arranged to buy a Richmond-area savings bank and a Richmond investment banking firm, Craigie Inc.

If these transactions are completed as planned, North Carolina-based institutions will hold 47 percent of Virginia's bank deposits.

The pressure to make their services more available while holding down costs has prompted several banks to rent space inside supermarkets and discount stores. The cost of opening an in-store facility is about a quarter of the cost for a freestanding branch, Centura's Landis said.

In addition to this savings, these store locations provide exposure to a heavy flow of potential customers.

``It's the same as retailing. You go where the traffic is,'' Edward Furash, head of a Washington, D.C., consulting firm, said.

But their efforts to provide greater convenience at lower cost also have prompted banks to increase their spending on alternative ways of delivering service. These include more sophisticated telephone banking systems, automated teller machines and home-banking programs.

Centura, which already offers home-banking software for personal computers, will launch a system for banking via the Internet later this year, Landis said. MEMO: BUSINESS ALMANAC ILLUSTRATION: Graphics

MAJOR ACCOUNTING FIRMS

These accounting firms do business in Hampton Roads and employ at

least 10 licensed certified public accountants in the region.

Goodman & Co. L.L.P.: Norfolk and Newport News; 49 licensed

CPAs;91 employees; Donald M. Dale, managing partner; 624-5100

KPMG Peat Marwick L.L.P.: Norfolk;

40 licensed CPAs; 96 employees; Stephen F. Evans, managing

partner; 622-6533

Witt Mares & Co. P.L.C.: Newport News, Virginia Beach, Suffolk

and Williamsburg; 35 licensed CPAs; 65 employees; Alan Witt,

managing director; 499-2070

Failes & Associates P.C.: Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth

and Suffolk; 33 licensed CPAs; 70 employees; Kurt W. Taves, managing

partner; 420-2652

Eggleston Smith P.C.: Newport News, Williamsburg and Smithfield;

27 licensed CPAs; 45 employees; Elwood L. Edwards, president;

873-0006

Frederick B. Hill & Co. P.C.: Norfolk;

20 licensed CPAs; 30 employees; Gary Carlton, managing director;

640-2500

Coopers & Lybrand L.L.P.: Virginia Beach; 20 licensed CPAs; 32

employees; Patrick M. Barberich, managing partner; 497-1400

McPhillips, Lieland & Deans P.C.: Norfolk and Virginia Beach; 16

licensed CPAs; 25 employees; Ed Amorosso, managing partner; 640-7190

Price Waterhouse L.L.P.: Norfolk; 15 licensed CPAs; 25 employees;

Barry R. Chernack, managing partner; 622-5005

Eason, Lawson & Westphal P.C.: Hampton and Chesapeake; 15

licensed CPAs; 22 employees; Gregory F. Lawson, managing partner;

722-6336

Edmondson, LedBetter & Ballard L.L.P.: Norfolk; 11 licensed CPAs;

17 employees; James K. Hall, managing partner; 627-2100

Strickland & Jones P.C.: Norfolk and Virginia Beach; 10 licensed

CPAs; 23 employees; James V. Strickland Jr., president; 627-7672

Zukerman & Associates Ltd.: Virginia Beach; 10 licensed CPAs; 22

employees; Herbert J. Zukerman, president; 473-3777

Roberts and Speece P.L.C.: Norfolk; 10 licensed CPAs; 13

employees; R. Paul Speece, managing partner; 622-7789

SOURCE: The companies

Wachovia is buying Jefferson Bankshares and Central Fidelity.

Centura Bank has opened four outlets in Hannaford supermarkets,

and expects to open a fifth.

First Union is buying Signet Banking Corp.

BB&T is buying a Richmond-area savings bank and a Richmond

investment banking firm, Craigie Inc.

The Virginian-Pilot

BANKS AND THRIFTS IN HAMPTON ROADS

Ranked according to their assets on March 31, 1997, assets and

tangible net worth from Bauer Financial Reports Inc. of Coral

Gables, Fla.

[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]

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