Local Area Least Affected By Bank Deal

Regulators may approve the merger of U.S. Bancorp and West One Bancorp by year-end, but it will be mid-1996 before the two systems will be completely consolidated, U.S. Bancorp Chairman Gerry Cameron said Thursday.

The merger, overwhelmingly endorsed by shareholders Tuesday, will create a $30 billion institution spanning six states and employing 14,000.

But Cameron said employee numbers are likely to shrink as some of the more than 600 U.S. Bank branches are sold off to defuse antitrust concerns.

The sales should not affect the Spokane-Coeur d’Alene area, he said, because there is no branch overlap and the merged bank does not have a dominant share of the market.

After the divestitures, Cameron said U.S. will likely play a pat hand in Washington, Idaho and Oregon, but may look for ways to bolster its operations in Utah, Nevada and Northern California.

He said he expects U.S., the largest bank based in the Northwest, to remain independent despite a national frenzy of banking mergers.

Although some have decried mega-banking, Cameron noted that in-state loans by Washington’s five largest banks exceed deposits, even though all are owned by out-of-state holding companies.

The key to success, he said, is retaining employees who understand local markets.

Cameron said U.S. plans to improve the assessment of customer needs by doing miniature financial profiles. A system called Integrated Client Access Network will take the information and suggest appropriate financial products.

Updates will be signaled when the customer has children nearing college age, or when he or she nears retirement.

Cameron, who plans to retire at the end of 1998, said the system is a far cry from banking in the mid-1950s, when as a bookkeeper he sorted checks alphabetically because there were no account numbers.

, DataTimes